


Family Ain't Easy

by angellwings



Category: The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Comedy, F/M, Family, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Inspired by a Movie, Love, Romance, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-18
Updated: 2017-11-26
Packaged: 2018-05-02 07:49:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 25,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5240420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angellwings/pseuds/angellwings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In an alternate universe, Jacob Stone is a Museum Security Guard who has a crush on The Curator, Mabel Collins. They're perfect for each other, if only he could bring himself to talk to her. Then, one fateful day, Jacob saves Mabel from a mugging. Despite his best efforts the incident leaves her in a coma and results in him being mistaken for her fiancé. Now, he's faced with mixups, misunderstandings, and lies and a family that couldn't care for each other more if they tried. Including Mabel's sister, Cassandra, who he finds himself inexplicably drawn to. Based on the movie While You Were Sleeping.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Museum Security

**Author's Note:**

> So I started this months ago and then stopped because, at the time, I wasn't completely feeling it. However, last week I went back and read over it again and, suddenly, I was inspired. I'm finally at a place where I think it's ready to share and since this story is set around the holidays, what better time than the week before Thanksgiving to start posting? Hope you like it!  
> Happy reading!  
> angellwings

The museum security guard checked his watch as the pretty brunette rounded the corner from the preservation room toward the door. Same time as always, on the dot. He tried not to watch her too closely as she left for her lunch break. She didn’t even know he existed and he didn’t want her first impression of him to be creepy leering. Though, he didn’t feel like he was leering. Then again, he also couldn’t see what the expression on his face looked like. He sighed and lightly hit himself on the head with his flashlight.

“Stupid, try not to be so creepy,” he muttered to himself. Or you know, he could just talk to her. He’d only been admiring Mabel Collins since he’d started working at the museum three months ago. She was, in a word, flawless. She was the curator and ran the exhibits with grace and ease. She was brilliant but never conceited. And passionate. He could tell she was passionate because she always came in an hour early and stayed two hours late. She was nothing like anyone in the family he’d come from, the family he’d left. She was the kind of woman he’d always imagined ending up with, but never thought he’d actually get.

Maybe someday he’d actually manage to talk to her.

“Stone!” His boss called from across the room. He looked up to find her stalking toward him.

“Yes?” He asked with a sigh as he stepped away from his station by the front door.

“Let’s get lunch,” she said as she dragged another guard behind her and placed him at Jake's station. “My treat.”

“Oh, that’s not necessary, Eve. My meal break isn’t for another hour—“

“Nonsense,” the tall blonde said as she motioned for him to follow her. “There’s a hot dog cart around the corner.”

Hot dogs? That wasn’t lunch, he thought as he fought the urge to roll his eyes. It must have still shown in his demeanor though because Eve turned and smirked at him.

“Not a fan of hot dogs?” She asked.

“Just when you say lunch I don’t necessarily think hot dog,” He told her honestly. “You say hot dog and I think of a baseball game or something.”

She chuckled. “Normally, I’d spring for something fancier but I have a meeting with the Director in about twenty minutes,” she said as they briskly marched down the sidewalk. “So, you’ve been here about three months. How’s the city treating you so far?” she asked as she motioned to New York City all around them.

“You know, pretty good I guess. It’s different than back home,” he told her. “A lot busier and a lot bigger. Sort of hard to get used to.”

“I know how you feel. Though for different reasons. I was an Army brat growing up,” she told him as they reached the hot dog cart and joined the line. “The bases had a small town feel and we didn’t usually travel much outside of them so coming here where I’m free to just roam however I see fit was definitely an adjustment. How was working Thanksgiving? Did it go well?”

“Oh, yeah,” he said quickly. “It was fine. Little boring, but fine. Definitely looking forward to spending Christmas in my own place though.”

Eve sighed and gave him an apologetic look. He knew what was coming after that. “About that. Ryan quit.”

Jake’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “What? When?”

“He left a letter of resignation on my desk after his shift ended last night. He was only barely fit for this job to begin with so if you look at the big picture it’s not terrible but in the short term…we now have no one to work Christmas. Everyone else has already made plans with family or to go out of town, including myself unfortunately. You’re the only who’ll be available,” she told him hesitantly. “I hate to take a day off away from you and I can’t make you work it, but you’re the only one who’s not—who doesn’t have any—“ she cut off her sentence and huffed. “I mean—“

“I get it,” Jacob said as he stopped her by holding up one of his hands. “I’m the only one who won’t be with family on Christmas.”

“I’m sorry, Stone. I know when you agreed to work Thanksgiving I told you’d have Christmas off so I don’t blame you if you refuse,” she said honestly as they reached the front of the line.

He sighed. “It sucks,” he said as he paused thoughtfully. “But I’ll do it. It’s eight hours of being bored out of my mind since the museum is closed but I’ll stick it out. No sense in anyone canceling their plans when I’m gonna be here anyway.”

They ordered their hot dogs and walked back toward the museum. “Thanks for being a team player, Stone. Just for that I’ll put your name in for Employee of the Month. You get to ride in a float in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. You’ll love it,” Eve said with a chuckle. “So,” she started as she changed the subject. “You talk to that girl you like yet? The Curator? Mabel Collins?”

He nearly choked on his hot bite of hot dog. “What? No! No, I don’t—I never—“

She laughed at him. “Please, you practically drool over her every time she walks through the museum. She’s cute. I can see why you’d like her. I don’t know, though, she doesn’t seem entirely right for you.”

“I don’t really know her or anything,” he said with a sheepish smile.

“Well, your chances of getting to know her would increase if you’d talk to her,” Eve said with a smirk. “A simple hello would do nicely I think.”

“Like she’d be interested in a security guard,” he said with a scoff.

“I don’t know, I saw that book you were reading the other day. I didn’t even understand the _title_ ,” Eve said pointedly. “So, I know that must mean you’re pretty smart.”

“It was in old Italian, that’s why you didn’t understand it,” he told her. “Memoirs of an artist who was part of the Mannerist movement.”

She blinked at him. “The what movement? Why exactly are you a security guard again? Sounds to me you should be working for Preservation or the Archives. Not security.”

“I don’t have the necessary degrees,” he told her honestly. “Never made it to college. Stayed home for a while to run the family business.”

“The Museum’s got an education reimbursement program,” Eve told him. “You should use it. Lots of universities in the city. You could pick any one of them. I’d be willing to have you work around your class schedule.” Eve glanced down at her watch and sighed. “I hate to run off so soon, but I’ve really got to get ready for that meeting. Let me know if you decide to take classes. We’ll work it out.”

She took off before he could say goodbye and he sat down on a bench to finish his hotdog. He did want to go back to school, but it was a big step. He would be older than a lot of the other students. Since he was a kid he'd been learning at his own pace and studying just the subjects he cared about, but that was different than earning an undergrad degree. There would be math involved. He was not good at math. History, English, Art…he could handle those subjects. He loved those subjects. But math and science were complete nonsense to him.

He went through the rest of the day on autopilot. His job was boring on it’s best day. Mind numbingly dull on it’s worst. Today was one of the better days. On his way home he stopped and bought a small Christmas Tree. It was the most pathetic Charlie Brown Christmas Tree on the lot, but he figured he could make it work. It would get his mind off of having to work and being alone on Christmas. This was the first year he wouldn’t be going home on Christmas. Turned out leaving the family business was the last straw for his father. Jacob and Isaac Stone hadn’t talked since he left. He hadn’t heard from any of his family. Not once. Not by mail or phone or any other method of communication. As much as he hated his life working on the rig he did love his family. He was so used to their loud crude insanity that being alone in his apartment felt much too calm and much too quiet. For someone who’d always wished to be alone, he’d never thought about how lonely that would make him.

There was a knock on his door as he decorated his pathetic tree and he took a break to answer it. He opened it to find his Building Manager, Flynn, smiling brightly at him and holding out a package.

“UPS left this for you,” he said brightly. “I accepted it on your behalf. I didn’t want Jones to steal it.”

Flynn was a professional student, as they were called these days. Though currently he was taking a break from education to attempt to write a book. He’d taken the job as Building Manager of the apartment building to pay the bills while he wrote. He remembered nearly every detail about all of his tenants. It made him a remarkable manager, despite his slightly scatterbrained personality.

“Thanks,” he said as he took the package from Flynn.

“Feels like books,” Flynn said curiously. “Did you order any books?”

“Yeah, yeah I did. Mostly artist memoirs. But there’s a couple of books of poetry in there too,” He said honestly. It was nice now, being honest about the things he enjoyed. He’d never done that with his family.

“So art and literature is your thing, hm?” Flynn asked. “Well, so you know, I’ve got a rather large collection of art portfolios and artist biographies down stairs if you ever want to borrow any of them. I’m always willing to share.”

Jake’s eyebrows rose and he gave him a small smile. “I might take you up on that.”

“Anytime,” Flynn told him. “I’ll probably be home writing. That’s all I seem to do these days.”

The conversation had ended but Flynn was still lingering awkwardly in Jake’s doorway. He’d attempted to look passed Jake several times to get a glimpse of the apartment. Jake smirked at him and cleared his throat. “Would you, uh, like to come in?” He asked as he stepped aside and motioned for Flynn to come inside.

“I’d love it, actually,” Flynn said eagerly as he all but bounded inside of the apartment.

“How’s the book coming?” Jake asked as they sat down in his living room.

“Oh, you know, how books are. I spend all day typing and typing and typing—I type so much that I think I’m getting carpal tunnel. At this rate I should be done with my book by—“ He stopped abruptly and shook his head at Jake. “Terrible, it’s terrible. I haven’t written anything in a month. I just can’t seem to focus! Every time I sit down to research I find about five new topics that sounds just as interesting and I end up sidetracked. And then when I do actually sit in front of my computer there is no motivation to type any words. None, what so ever.”

“Have you ever thought about, I don’t know, going outside?” Jake asked him with a small smile. “Taking a walk and meeting new people? It might help.”

Flynn made a disgusted face. “Outside? In the cold and ice? And with all the people who think learning is something to suffer through? That outside?”

“Yeah, the same outside that also has fresh air, Christmas decorations, and multiple college campuses for you to explore to find like minded people,” Jake said with a chuckle.

“No, you and I are discussing two very different ‘outsides.’ Mine is reality, yours is a daydream,” Flynn told him with a shake of his head. “I’d much rather stay inside with my books who won’t tease me or force me to graduate.”

“Wait,” Jake said in surprise. “Force you to graduate? You said you dropped out.”

“I did say that. I did,” He said with consecutive nods. “But I lied. I big time lied.”

“Alright then,” Jake said with a chuckle.

“Apparently, one of my professor’s felt he was enabling me and keeping me from ‘experiencing life’ by letting me continue to study,” Flynn said with a huff. “Pipsy Posh.”

Suddenly Jake’s window opened and a figure stepped in from the fire escape. Flynn and Jake jumped up from their seats, ready to attack, when the intruder showed his face.

“If it isn’t the anti-social intellectual support group.”

“Jones,” Jake told his neighbor with a sneer. “I told you to stop doing that.”

“Sorry, mate, forgot my key again. Couldn’t get in the door downstairs without it. Didn’t think you’d mind if I borrowed your fire escape for a bit,” Ezekiel Jones said with a smirk.

“Yeah, well I do mind,” Jake said with a glare.

“Fine, I understand,” Jones said with a grin. “Let me just borrow Flynn for his spare key and I’ll be out of your hair.”

“One of these days,” Flynn said as he followed the younger man out of Jake’s apartment. “A tenant is going to call the cops on you and I swear I will _let_ them arrest you. Is it that hard to remember your key when you leave?”

Jake shut the door behind them and sighed. At least his building would never be boring.

****


	2. The Accident

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake finally finds an opportunity to talk to Mabel, but it doesn't last long...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there's gonna be a bit of a crack ship mentioned in this chapter. Hopefully you guys like the idea of it as much as I do. crack ships are allowed in AUs though right? ;)   
> Happy reading!

 

Finally, the workday he’d been dreading approached. But at least working on Christmas kept his mind off of his family celebrating Christmas without him. He was sitting at his station, watching the monitors for…well nothing. No one was here. When he saw an ID was scanned and the front door opened. He looked up to see Mabel Collins, the Curator, walking toward him. She never actually walked up to him. Just passed him as she was leaving. Was he supposed to talk to her?

“Merry Christmas,” she said with a kind smile and a small wave.

His mouth opened to speak but he couldn’t find any words. He promptly closed his mouth and nodded as she turned and headed around the corner to the Preservation Room.

He winced and then let his head fall against his desk.

“Stupid,” he muttered to himself. “Hi, how are you? Merry Christmas. How about a coffee? You’re prettier than any work of art I’ve ever studied. I love you. Will you marry me?”

“Thanks for the offer, but I’m gonna say no.”

Jake froze and looked up in horror to find his boss smirking at him.

“I’m flattered, Stone,” Eve said with a chuckle. “But you’re not really my type. I like goofy and distracted. You are neither of those things.”

He groaned in embarrassment and she chuckled again.

“Mabel Collins just walked by, I’m guessing?” Eve asked him.

“Yes,” he said with a huff. “And she actually spoke to me.”

“But you didn’t speak to her?” Eve asked. “Wow, I took you for someone with a bit more game than that.”

“I normally do have more…game…than that,” he said in frustration. “But she’s not the kind of girl a guy like me usually—she’s major league. I’m maybe in the minors. _Maybe_.”

“You really should give yourself a bit more credit, Stone,” Eve said with a kind smile. “You’re a good guy. That goes a lot farther with women than you might think. But never mind me. I’m just here to pick up a present I left in my office.”

“Thanks,” he said with a halfhearted smile as Eve walked off toward her office in Security’s section of the building.

Baird came and went and then the rest of the day was just as uneventful as the first half. Four more hours in front of monitors where nothing happened. That is until at the end of the day when he spotted Mabel Collins on his monitors walking out of the Preservation Room. He stood up and straightened his clothes and his hair and as she approached the door he beat her to it and opened it for her.

She smiled pleasantly at him and nodded. “Oh, thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he said with a nervous gulp.

There, he said two words. He actually said them.

As she stepped outside, and approached the curb to hail a cab, a man appeared from out of nowhere. He grabbed for her purse and instead of letting him take it Mabel fought back. Jake’s eyes widened and he ran outside to intervene as quickly as he could but as he reached the door, the thug struck Mabel and ripped the bag off of her arm. Mabel fell to the curb with a loud, sickening thud and struck the front of her head on the pavement. The momentum of the strike left her rolling out into the parking spot against the sidewalk just as a cab approached. Jake ran out the door and put himself in front of the cab, waving his arms frantically to stop it. The cab stopped suddenly and Jake then turned to check on Mabel as she lay unconscious on the street. There was no blood, miraculously. That was a good sign, but the purse snatcher had gotten away. The cab driver stepped out of the cab to stare at them and Jake turned to him with a glare.

“Don’t just stand there! Call 9-1-1!” He commanded.

The cab driver jumped and then nodded as he pulled out his phone.  Jake stayed with Mabel until the ambulance arrived and watched worriedly as they loaded her onto the stretcher and into the back of the vehicle. The policeman approached him as the ambulance drove off to get his statement. He told him all he knew and then when he was finally done he checked his watch. His shift was over. He could go home but he couldn’t shake his worry.

He needed to make sure Mabel was okay. He went home first and changed his clothes and then raced back out the door to the hospital he heard the paramedics say they were taking her too. He managed to find out she was in the ICU but the nurse outside the ICU refused to let him in or even tell him how she was doing. 

“Look, I don’t need to go back there. I just need to know she’s okay! That’s all I need to know!”

“That information is for family only,” the crabby nurse, who he thought was named Karen, sneered at him as she walked off.

He sighed and put his hands on his waist and shook his head before he muttered to himself. “You don’t understand. I was gonna marry her.”

Or he imagined he could. If only he could just speak the words to ask her out. That’s really all he wanted.

“Hey,” another nurse whispered to his right. He turned to see a kind woman with blonde curly hair smiling softly at him. “This way, kid. Gretchen’ll get you in there.”

“Who’s Gretchen?” He asked in confusion.

“I am.” She winked at him and he immediately followed her.

“Who are you looking for?” Gretchen asked him.

“Mabel Collins,” he told her.

“Right this way, dearie,” Gretchen said with a nod. “I know exactly where she is.”

Gretchen led him to Mabel’s room and the sight of her unconscious and colorless made him frown with worry and he gave the nurse a questioning look.

“She’s okay,” she assured him. “Just in a bit of a coma. She hit her head pretty hard. The Doctor’s expect she’ll come out of it when she’s ready.  Go on, talk to her. She can hear you.”

The nurse motioned him forward and he hesitantly stepped up to Mabel’s bedside and sat down. He cleared his throat and watched her face. “Um, Hi, Mabel. Listen, I know that you and I don’t—“

The cop he’d spoken with earlier entered the room and spotted him with a familiar grin. “Hey, you’re the guy that saved her life, right? I talked to you earlier, didn’t I?”

Gretchen smiled warmly at Jacob. “You saved her life?”

“I, um, no not really. I just--”

There was loud bickering coming toward them and suddenly four additional people filled the room. They were bickering amongst themselves and then suddenly they surrounded Mabel’s bed and, as a result, Jacob too. Jacob immediately stood and backed away from the group.

“Oh my God, I knew something bad was going to happen!” The blonde woman said as she smacked the shoulder of one of the older men with her. “I told you! I should have made her come to Christmas dinner! I should have made her!”

The man in the bow tie sighed and shook his head. “Charlene, you couldn’t have made her come to dinner.”

“Yes I could have! I could have, Jenkins. I could have gone and gotten her myself.”

“Mom,” The young dark haired girl said with a roll of her eyes. “Mabel had been planning to work that day for months. She had that huge project. You couldn’t have—“

“You are never not attending family Christmas, you hear me?” Charlene told the girl in scolding tone.

The girl gave her mom a kind smile and nodded obediently. “Yes, mother.” She shook her head and then sat down in the seat Jacob had just recently vacated next to Mabel’s bed.

The fourth member of the group, an older man with a strangely deadpan face, turned to face him. “Who are you, sir?” he asked. His face didn't give away any sort of emotion but at least his tone was kind.

Gretchen furrowed her brow at Jacob and then the family. “He’s—he’s her fiancé.”

Jacob’s eyes widened and he opened his mouth to correct what Gretchen had said when the cop spoke up before him.

“And he saved her life,” the cop added. “Jumped in front of car that would have run her over.”

“You saved her life?” Charlene asked with emotional eyes focused on him.

Once again he opened his mouth to reply when the nurse, Karen, from earlier barged in the room and pointed an accusing finger at him. “I thought I told you the ICU was family only.”

“He is family!” Charlene told the nurse with a glare.

“He’s the fiancé,” Gretchen told Karen sternly.

He was really trying to correct the situation. He was. He tried to say something again but Charlene, who he assumed was Mabel’s mother, cut him off with a hug.

“I am so sorry we have to meet like this,” Charlene said apologetically. She continued in an emotional voice as she hugged him tighter. “It's just that, Mabel, she works all the time and she never tells us what’s going on in her life so we didn’t know! Oh, congratulations! And welcome to the family! Really! I always wanted her to settle down with someone nice. I’m so glad she found you!”

The four of them surrounded him and each shook his hand. The younger sister even hugged him too. They asked him questions non-stop or told stories. He could never find a moment to get a word in edgewise. And the longer it went on the more afraid he was to tell them the truth. The younger sister gave up her seat for the elderly man to sit down.

“I can’t believe she wouldn’t tell us something this big!” Charlene said with a huff. The elderly man shook his head but put a hand on his chest and took a labored breath.

“Dad—“

“I’m fine, Charlene.”

“ _Is_ he okay, though?” Gretchen asked as she leaned toward the man with the bow tie, named Jenkins.

“He probably needs his medication. He’s had two heart attacks—“

“Not attacks,” the older man said with a glare that greatly resembled Charlene's from earlier. “They were not attacks.”

“Of course they weren’t, Judson,” Jenkins said with dry exasperation. “Is there a pharmacy in this hospital?”

Oh great, perfect, Jake thought as his eyes widened in panic. Now if he told the truth he might cause an old man to have a heart attack. Wonderful. Just peachy.

“If only Cassandra were here,” Charlene said with a sigh. “She’d understand this--why Mabel kept this a secret from us. I don’t know why on earth she wouldn't—“

“Well, considering how you reacted the last time she brought someone home—“ the younger sister began with a smirk. Charlene quickly cut her off.

“Psh, _Lamb-y_ was horrible and we all knew it.”

“Her name was Lamia, mom. Lam-ee-ah. Not Lamb-y.”

“Amy, now is not the time.”

Amy rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest with a grin. “Sure, okay.”

 _Her_ name? Oh. _Oh._ Mabel is bisexual? Okay, okay, he thought. Pretend you knew that, he thought as he attempted not to react. Not a big deal anyway, right? It’s not like he hadn’t seen her leave the office on lunch dates with guys. He knew she was attracted to men. So now she was just attracted to women too. Right, okay, he learned new things every day.

The Doctor came in to speak with family and Jake took that opportunity to sneak out and find Gretchen, the nurse that had gotten him into this mess in the first place.

Jake cleared his throat as he approached her. “Excuse me, Gretchen?”

“Yes, sweetheart?” She asked kindly.

“Why did you tell them I was engaged to Mabel?” He asked her with politeness he didn’t quite feel.

“Well, you said you were.”

His eyes widened and he shook his head adamantly. “No, no I didn’t. Before today I hadn’t even spoken two words to her.”

Her brow furrowed at him and she leaned toward him to whisper. “But downstairs! You said you were gonna marry her!”

“That? That’s what you heard? I—I was talking to myself. No one was supposed to hear that!” He said frantically.

“Newsflash, guy,” Gretchen said as she lightly smacked his shoulder. “When you say things out loud, _people hear them_.”

“What do I do?” He asked her. He hoped maybe she had an answer because he couldn’t think of one.

“I wish I knew,” she said with a shrug. “This is a big mess you got yourself in.”

He quirked a brow at her. “You helped a little, you know.”

“Barely, this was mostly you.”

“She hugged me so tight. And then the old man has the heart problems. I couldn’t tell them. I tried but I couldn’t! And now they think—“

“Excuse me.”

Jake immediately stopped talking and gave Gretchen a fearful look. It was the kid sister, Amy.

“Can you tell me where the pharmacy is here?” She asked Gretchen as she gave Jake an apologetic look for interrupting. “My grandfather needs his medicine,” Amy asked politely.

“I’ve already got the prescription. Come on, I’ll take you there, dearie,” Gretchen told the teenager kindly.

Amy stopped and then turned to Jake. She smiled shyly at him before she spoke. “I just, um, I want you to know that you saved more than just my sister today. You saved my whole family.” She gave him another brief hug and then pulled away with a bashful expression. “Thank you.”

And then they left. And Jake suddenly realized how trapped in this lie he really was. What was he going to do? Should he tell them? What if the grandfather had a heart attack? And the kid sister, god, she looked at him like he’d saved her whole world. How do you ruin that? How do you upset a family when they’re already facing a horrible situation? You didn’t. That was the bottom line. You just didn’t. Not right now at least. Maybe he’d tell them tomorrow. 

Oh god, this was bad. How did he get himself into this mess? Better yet, how did he _get out of it_? How did he get out of _here_ right now? He took the opportunity of a moment alone to leave.


	3. Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jacob goes back to the hospital to visit Mabel in the middle of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter is today's #25daysofjassandra post for jassandratrash on tumblr! Hope you guys like it!   
> Happy reading!  
> angellwings (aka summer-smells on tumblr)

 

He left as quickly as he could. Out the door and back to his apartment. As far away from this crazy mess as he could get. It was late. He figured he could sleep but he couldn’t seem to actually fall asleep. He just laid in bed feeling horrible and guilty for deceiving what seemed like a perfectly nice family. He tossed and turned for hours before he finally gave up.

He threw on clothes again and glanced at the clock. Two in the morning. What was he going to do? He left his apartment and just walked. Before he knew it he was standing outside of the hospital again. He shook his head at himself. Why was he back here? He should stay far away. He went up to the ICU and found the family had gone home. It was just Mabel in the room. He hesitantly entered and sat down next to her bed. He didn’t know why he was here. He really shouldn’t be. He didn’t know Mabel. Not really.

He cleared his throat and avoided looking at her face while he talked.

“Um, hey, Mabel. I—uh—well you should probably know…your family thinks we’re engaged. I don’t know what to do. I mean, I’ve barely ever spoken to you. So I know this is weird. We don’t know each other. I should tell them the truth but…they really care about you. And—well they’ve so readily embraced me. They know nothing about me yet your family hugged me more today than my own fa—that's not important. Anyway, I’m not sure how to go about this. Never been engaged before. It’s been a long time since I’ve been in any sort of relationship, actually,” Jacob said as she reached up and nervously scratched behind his ear. “Never really found anyone I could…be myself with. Where I grew up doing anything that wasn’t in pursuit of the family business was wrong. You just didn’t do it. So, me being into art and architecture and literature…well I didn’t really fit in with anyone. Never found anybody who I felt cared about that side of me. Someday it might be nice to have that. To have someone. You know?” He finally glanced at her unconscious face and chuckled at himself. “This is ridiculous. I—What am I doing with my life? Huh? I’m working as a security guard and probably completely boring a coma patient. I’m a mess,” he told her with a small grin. “I bet you’re glad we’re not actually engaged, huh?”

If he hadn’t been so caught up in getting everything off his chest, Jacob might of noticed the older man in the bow tie slinking away from Mabel’s hospital room. But he didn’t notice. He spent the whole night talking to Mabel. He felt silly at times but then…it felt nice to just say it. Even if there was no acknowledgment or reaction. Just saying things out loud felt good. For the moment at least. He didn’t even realize he’d fallen asleep until a hand shook him awake and he lifted his head from Mabel’s bed to see Charlene and Jenkins standing above him.

“Good morning,” Jenkins said with a hint of a smile.

“Have you been here all night?” Charlene asked.

He nodded and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he stood up from the chair.

“How is she?” Charlene asked.

Jacob gathered his things and suddenly felt very awkward being here with her family. He was back in this awkward lie. He still didn’t know what to do.

“Um, she’s good,” Jacob answered hesitantly. “There’s more color in her cheeks.”

“Oh, look at that,” Charlene said with small smile as she brushed a strand of hair out of Mabel’s eyes. “She definitely looks better.”

She ran a soft hand over the bandage on Mabel’s head and took a deep fortifying breath before she faced Jacob again. “You should come to dinner tonight.”

His eyebrows rose. “What?”

“We didn’t get to have Christmas dinner,” she told him as she motioned to Mabel’s unconscious form. “So we’re having it tonight. You should come.”

“Oh,” he said awkwardly. “I, um, I’d love to but I have to work tomorrow and I—“

“Do you go to bed insanely early on work nights?” Charlene asked him with a challenging smirk.

“Um, no, I guess not—“

“Good, then you can stay up your normal amount of hours with us,” Charlene told him with a confident grin.

“And you can meet Cassandra,” Jenkins offered with a polite smile and a nod.

“Oh, yes! You haven’t met my Cassandra,” Charlene said brightly. “You will love her. You have to come now, see? You haven’t met the whole family yet.”

He chuckled and nodded. She had him backed into a corner. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Here,” Charlene said as she handed him a card. “That’s my work number. Call me when you think you can’t come and I’ll talk you into it. Or,” she said as she took the card back and scribbled another number on it. She handed it back to him. “Call that number and my dad or Amy will talk you into it.”

“Either way you _will_ be talked into it,” Jenkins said with an exasperated expression. “Trust me. I’ve been talked into everything with this family. The amount of things I’ve done against my will would shock you.”

Jake laughed and nodded again. “Okay, I’ll call.”

“And you’ll come,” Charlene said with a decisive nod. “See you tonight, Jacob.”

He shared a resigned look with Jenkins and sighed. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Told you,” Jenkins said dryly.

And that was how he found himself standing outside of a large house in Long Island at about six o’clock that evening holding a poinsettia he’d managed to find on the way over. He stared at the front stoop and the door adorned with a Christmas wreath for several indecisive minutes. What the hell was he doing here? He wasn’t Mabel Collins’s fiancé. He was not a member of this family. He had let them believe a lie and now he was intruding on their family time. Well, it’s not as if he wasn’t used to lying to people, right? He lied to his family his whole life.

So, why couldn’t he lie to them?

Simple, he was sick of it. Sick of lying, sick of being someone he wasn’t. Sick of hiding from himself and from the life he’d built. Or was trying to build anyway.

“Jacob,” a voice said from behind him.

He turned quickly to find Jenkins watching him with a small smile.

“Mr. Jenkins,” Jacob said with a nod.

“I see you came.”

“I don’t think I had much of a choice,” Jacob told him with a smirk.

“No,” Jenkins said with a grin. “You did not. You know, I don’t believe I ever caught your last name, sir.”

“Stone,” He told him. “Jacob Stone.”

“Well, Mr. Stone, would you mind if we spoke in private for a moment?” Jenkins asked as he motioned to the side-by-side rocking chairs on the front porch.

Jacob’s brow furrowed in worry but he nodded and followed Jenkins to the chairs.

“You know, I have known Charlene for a great many years, Mr. Stone. Don’t tell her I said a ‘great many years’ by the way, she would have my head,” Jenkins told him as they sat down.

Jacob chuckled and nodded. “Your secret is safe with me.”

“Yes, I’m sure it is. We all keep secrets don’t we?” Jenkins asked him with a knowing expression.

Jacob froze and wondered if Jenkins _knew_. But he couldn’t? Could he?

“I was there with her the day she and Gaston first met Mabel. She’s adopted, you know?” Jenkins told him. “All three of the girls are. Not long after they adopted Amy, things with Gaston, Charlene’s ex-husband, began to unravel. They both love the girls but that wasn’t reason enough to stay together,” Jenkins said with a sigh. “It was a blow for her and a hard adjustment for the girls. I’ve been with them every step of the way. I care for them as if they were my own. You understand?”

Jacob nodded wordlessly and let Jenkins continue.

“I would never let someone come in and hurt them. If I knew someone _intended_ to hurt them, well there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to protect this family. They have invited me in to their home year after year. They are caring and loyal people who deserve to be treated in kind. Before we go inside, I have one question for you, Mr. Stone,” Jenkins said as he gave Jake a stern glance.

Jacob gulped nervously. “Yes?”

“ _Will you_ protect them as I have? Would you keep them from harm?”

Jacob honestly couldn’t tell if Jenkins knew his secret or not. He wish he’d just come out and say it. Jacob took a deep breath and said the first answer that came to mind. “I would never hurt them, Jenkins. They’ve been through enough. A family that cares as much about each other as they seem to deserves to be protected.”

“That is the answer I was looking for,” Jenkins said with the ghost of a smile and a nod. “Now, shall we head inside?”

The abrupt way Jenkins shifted focus caused Jacob to do a slight double take. That was it? They were done?

The door opened as Jenkins reached for it and then Judson was there motioning them inside.

“Don’t just stand out here in the cold,” the old man said as he physically reached out and pulled Jacob inside. “Come on in. Dinner’s almost ready.” He leaned toward Jenkins with a smirk. “Don’t worry, she ordered out.”

“What number glass of wine are we on?” Jenkins asked him.

“Three.”

Jenkins nodded and looked genuinely surprised. “That’s modest for Charlene.”

“I was shocked myself,” Judson said with a chuckle. “Jacob, nice to see you again.”

“You as well, sir,” Jacob said as he held up the plant he’d brought with him. “Where should I put this?”

“Oh, I’ll take it,” an unfamiliar voice said from the top of the stairs.

He looked up to see a pretty redhead walking down the stairs toward him. For a moment she seemed to be approaching in slow motion and that’s when he realized his was staring. He looked away quickly and mentally scolded himself. Yes, she was beautiful but these people thought he was with Mabel. He did not need the added complication of them catching him checking out her sister. Not that he was, you know, checking her out. He wasn’t. He definitely wasn’t. Besides, she was the only completely unknown variable in this situation. What if she saw right through him? What would he do then?


	4. The Sister

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jacob meets Cassandra.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Day Eleven of 25 Days of Jassandra!

 

He managed to maintain his casual demeanor as she took the plant from him.

“It’s beautiful,” she told him with a pleasant smile. “It will look wonderful in mom’s sun room.”

He swallowed thickly and nodded. “Uh, I’m glad you like it.”

He squinted at himself as he replayed the words in his head and then sighed. That sounded stupid.

She chuckled at him and nodded. “I like it very much. So, you must be Jake.”

He nodded. Thankfully, Jenkins took it from there.

“Jacob _Stone_ as it turns out,” Jenkins told them.

Cassandra balanced the plant against her hip with one hand and reached the other toward him for a handshake. “Cassandra Cillian, Jacob Stone. It’s nice to finally meet you.” He hesitantly reached out and shook her hand. Her hands surprised him by being slightly callused. “I have heard so much about you,” she said as they shook hands. “Surprisingly, though, none of what I heard came from Mabel.”

He released her hand and tried not to panic. Think fast, he thought. You used to do that all the time back home. “Well, it was a pretty recent development.”

“How recent exactly?” Cassandra asked as her eyes narrowed slightly. Her smile was still pleasant but her eyes were searching him for something.

“Three months,” he answered. That was actually the truth. “We started seeing each other three months ago.”

Her eyes widened and she nodded. “Three months? That’s… _quick_.”

“Yeah, well,” he said with a shrug and a smile. “Sometimes when you know, you just… _know_.”

She chuckled dryly and nodded. “You sound like her. She has this unwavering belief that things happen in their own time and that when something feels right you should jump right in. I’ve never had that ability.” Cassandra’s eyes met his for a moment and then she looked back down at the plant she was cradling against her hip. “Well, I suppose I should put this away. I’ll be right back.” Before she walked away she turned to Jenkins with a warm smile. “Mr. Jenkins, I believe Amy has something she’d like to show you in the garage.”

“Ah,” he said in recognition. “Is this the STEM fair project I’ve heard so much about?”

Cassandra nodded. “Of course. Victory is most assuredly hers,” she told him with a playful giggle. “She’s been waiting for you all afternoon.”

Cassandra nodded at Jake one last time before she turned and walked off with the poinsettia. She seemed to buy his story, for now. That was a good sign.

Or was it? Had he decided to go along with this? When had that happened?

“Mr. Stone,” Jenkins said with a proud grin. “You should come with me. You’re about to see a brilliant scientific mind in the early stages of her career.”

Jake’s eyes widened. “I am?”

“Oh, yes, Amy has a long and bright future ahead of her,” Jenkins said as he motioned for Jake to follow him into the kitchen.

Judson caught Jake’s eye as they passed him and smirked. “He has to say that because he’s her tutor.”

“I tutored all three of them, sir,” Jenkins said with pride. “And look how well they’ve turned out!”

Charlene was busy in the kitchen plating dinner but she rolled her eyes as she heard Jenkins entering the kitchen. “Bragging again, Mr. Windbag?”

“I have a right to brag,” He told her with a nod. “Mabel is The Curator at a prestigious museum in the greatest city in our nation, Cassandra is doing amazing things in pharmaceuticals and may be on the brink of a breakthrough, and your youngest is certain to have as shining a career as either of them. Yes, I’d say that is quite worthy of bragging.”

So, Mabel came from a family of super geniuses? Why was he not surprised? Must be nice to grow up in a family who expected and accepted genius. He wouldn’t know what that was like. Suddenly, he felt a bit panicked. Would they believe someone like Mabel fell for a security guard? Everyone in this family seemed brilliant, surely he must stick out like a sore thumb.

“Jacob!” Amy said happily as he and Jenkins entered the garage. “You came!”

He smiled kindly at her and nodded. “I did.”

“Just in time to see your project, Amelia,” Jenkins said with a grin.

“Oh! Right! Molecular Cloning!”

Jacob spent the next half hour listening to a very detailed presentation about molecular cloning that he barely understood. As it was ending Cassandra snuck into the garage and came to stand beside of him. She was beaming at her younger sister and he caught her occasionally mouthing the words to her well rehearsed presentation. He grinned to himself as the presentation ended and then joined Cassandra and Jenkins in the light applause that followed her big finish.

“So?” She asked Jenkins eagerly.

“Very impressive,” He said with an approving smile. “I could have done with less modern slang but I understand these competitions do grant additional points for style according to Cassandra.”

Cassandra nodded. “It’s not enough to be the smartest person in the room anymore, Mr. Jenkins. They like to know the individual competing is excited about their research. Amy’s use of colloquial expressions shows her personality and her excitement. It will definitely garner more attention.”

“Mr. Finch uses slang all the time in class,” Amy said with a nod.

Cassandra rolled her eyes and scoffed. “Yes, well, we’re not going to compare anything you’re doing to Mr. Finch. He’s not exactly the example I’d like you to follow.”

Jenkins grinned at Cassandra affectionately and then chuckled dryly. “Cassandra is correct. All indications are that Mr. Finch is a poor scientist and hardly a scholar. A true scientist would not teach science fiction in a class room.”

“You’re the one that taught me science fiction isn’t far off from science _fact_ , Mr. Jenkins,” Amy said with a smirk.

“I was referring to Jules Vern and HG Wells, Amelia, not UFOs,” Jenkins said sternly.

“Look, current estimates put the number of habitable planets in our galaxy at eleven billion so it is highly unlikely that we are the only intelligent life in this universe,” Cassandra said with a thoughtful expression. “However, he did not choose to teach the science behind possible life in the galaxy. I can’t expect him to properly shape young minds when he’s fabricating evidence to support his own wishful thinking. It’s acceptable to explain that it’s a possibility and to bring up how that conclusion was made, but we have no evidence of actual life existing beyond our planet. That’s not to say I’m dismissing UFOs completely. I never dismiss anything completely.”

“The only people I know who belive in UFOs are the same ones who think that Elvis was the shooter on the Grassy Knoll,” Jacob added with a smirk.

“Thank you, Mr. Stone,” Jenkins said in a relieved tone. “UFOs do not exist.”

“This guy actually taught a class on UFOs?” Jacob asked in disbelief.

“Not just one class,” Amy said with an amused grin. “A whole week of classes.”

“He should have been preparing you all for your midterms,” Cassandra said with a sigh. “Interest in science and math is dwindling in public schools. Students aren’t understanding the material or connecting to it at all and wasting time on topics like UFOs is exactly the reason why,” she said with a frustrated expression. “Instead of connecting with all of you on an unproven field of study he should be showing you all of the amazing things science can do and all of the things it’s given us through out history. But no instead he spends a week talking about little green men in flying saucers.”

Amy chuckled at her and then crossed her arms over her chest before giving her sister a knowing look. “And you think you could do better.”

“Yes,” Cassandra answered passionately before she gave her sister a silencing look. “I have no doubt I could, but I _have_ a job.”

“Yeah, but not one that you—“

Cassandra immediately interrupted Amy and turned to Jacob and Mr. Jenkins. “Mom says dinner is almost ready and we should come back in the house.” Jacob noticed Cassandra give Amy a stern glare as she ushered the other three people out of the garage.

“I told you that in confidence,” Cassandra whispered to Amy as they stepped into the kitchen.

No one else had heard that aside from Amy and himself. He was certain he wasn’t meant to have heard it.

“You should say something,” Amy told her quietly. “I don’t want you ending up like Mabel. We never see her anymore.”

“That’s not why we don’t see her and you know it,” Cassandra told her before they both realized Jacob was still standing a few inches away.

He could see them tense before they stopped talking all together. He pretended not to notice. Cassandra seem to realize her misstep though because she immediately stepped up to his side.

“I know you heard us,” she said with a sheepish smile. Her blue eyes met his and he found himself trapped in them for a moment. There was pleading and desperation and sadness in them and he couldn’t help but wonder how one pair of eyes could hold so many emotions.

He smirked at her and shook his head with a wink. “Heard what?” He asked as he feigned ignorance.

She smiled warmly at him and then nodded. “Thank you.”

He leaned toward her and spoke quietly to keep anyone from overhearing. “I can’t say I’m not curious, though, about what you told Amy in confidence that your family can’t know.” Hopefully it was nothing like what he’d done for years and years.

“Well,” she said with a small grin. “Maybe someday I’ll tell you. I mean you are going to be my brother in law, right?”

He blinked at her for a moment. He’d almost forgotten about the lie. “Right, yes. I am.” He cleared his throat and looked away from her. “So, what happens next?”

“Next,” Cassandra said as she motioned for him to follow her and Amy. “We go into the dining room and Grandpa gives his Christmas toast.”

“Christmas toast?” Jacob asked.

Amy nodded. “It’s usually something philosophical with a quote from a book or something. He doesn’t talk much but when he does it’s important to listen.”

Cassandra nodded her agreement as Charlene rushed passed them. There was a moment of quiet before Charlene backtracked and stopped in front of Cassandra. She looked her up and down and motioned to her black plaid pencil skirt and forest green cable knit sweater and then shook her head.

“What is that?” Charlene asked her with a critical gaze.

Amy grinned and held a hand over her mouth to try and hide it. Jake’s brow furrowed and he glanced between the two women.

Cassandra sighed and shrugged. “It’s my outfit, mother.”

“No, no. Your Christmas outfits are usually highly themed. Whatever _this_ is, is not my Cassandra. My Cassandra wears puffy skirts and striped tights and big Christmas bow pins. Who are you and what have you done with my quirky red head?” Charlene asked a pointed glance.

“I’m still here, mom, I promise. Just decided to try something different this year,” Cassandra said with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

“This new job of yours has taken away some of your whimsy. I don’t like it,” Charlene told her.

Cassandra’s eyes widened in surprise. “This is the job you wanted me to take, remember?”

“I like the actual job, honey, just not the new wardrobe,” Charlene said with a small apologetic smile.

“Well, mom, this is the wardrobe I have to have now. This is the way people in my industry dress,” Cassandra told her. “If I wanted to fit in I had to change a little. I told you that.” 

Amy cleared her throat and tugged on Jacob’s sleeve. “We should, uh, let them talk.”

He nodded and quickly followed the girl into the dining room. “What was that?” He asked her when they were out of earshot of the bickering women.

Amy sighed. “Cassandra accepted this research job at the beginning of the year. Everyone thought it would be completely perfect for her. She loves research and experiments, but I don’t think it’s what any of us thought it would be and it keeps her busier than mom would like. Sometimes it results in, well, _that_ ,” Amy said as she motioned to the bickering they could still faintly hear taking place behind them. “It’s pointless but it’s how mom worries and Cassandra’s…well she’s always been the one of us who tries the hardest to make the family proud.”

He nodded and glanced back at he pair of women arguing in the hallway. It wasn’t a serious argument, he could tell. It was something stemming from worry and love. Very different than any argument he’d ever had with his father. As different as the fight was, Amy’s words stuck him. Because he could relate. He knew that struggle and desire to make your family proud very well. He’d suffered under it for far too long. When the argument ended with a reassuring smile from Cassandra and a hug he breathed a sigh of relief for her. Clearly, her situation was different from his in many ways but he couldn’t help but feel empathetic. He glanced away as they joined the rest of the group in the dining room.

Being thrown into this family was very interesting. He didn’t know them very well, but he could actually see the love and care they had for each other. They probably had no idea how rare that was or how exceptional it made them. Guilt pressed down on his chest. He was intruding. He was lying to them and intruding on their holiday. What was he doing here? Why hadn’t he told them the truth the very minute Gretchen had misspoken? He should have. But he just couldn’t do it. Even now, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything.

The problem was, he liked these people. He’d started to get to know them now. He wanted to know them better. It was intriguing to watch a family like this one. He’d never had this but he’d always wanted it. It was too tempting to turn back on it now. Even if it meant lying to them a little longer.


	5. Christmas Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jacob has dinner with Mabel's family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took way too long. But I got stuck on Judson's Christmas speech and finally got past it tonight! happy reading!  
> angellwings

 

Jacob hung back and let the other members of the family sit and then took the left over seat, which just happened to be between Jenkins and Cassandra. After a moment of awkward silence, Jacob hesitantly leaned toward Cassandra.

“Everything okay?” He asked.

“Oh, yes,” she said with an embarrassed blush. “Mom’s just a bit protective. We’re fine.”

“Good, I’m glad to hear that,” he told her with a kind smile. “Arguing’s not so bad when it comes from love, and your family definitely has that.”

“Sometimes, I think we have too much of it,” Cassandra said with a chuckle.

Jacob smiled softly and shook his head. “Not possible. Trust me. They may drive you a little crazy sometimes but I bet you never doubt that they’ll be there for you when you need them, right?”

She nodded but said nothing. Her eyes met his and he made sure to hold her gaze before he continued.

“That’s rare, Cassandra. Don’t take it for granted. Not everyone gets that,” Jacob told her.

She opened her mouth to respond but before she could Judson stood from his chair.

“Family, friends,” Judson announced. He motioned to Jacob before he went on, “New additions, we’re a day late on our Christmas celebration and a family member short. While we miss her, we take great comfort in knowing that she is alive and will be well again. She’s not gone just absent and we will be there for her for as long as she needs us. Probably longer, if Charlene has anything to say about it.”

“Absolutely longer,” Charlene said as she took a large sip from her wine glass. “Whether she likes it or not.”

Jenkins reached over and took the glass from Charlene and set it out of her reach. “We should probably take a break from the wine. Don’t you agree?”

Charlene glared at him but leaned back in her chair and turned her attention back to Judson.

“But in the midst of our own concerns, let us not forget what Christmas should be or how we should keep it in our hearts year around. There’s a reason so many people across the world read or watch _A Christmas Carol_ every holiday season. ‘I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round, as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.’ Let us remember to open our shut up hearts freely far more often than we do,” Judson said with a warm paternal smile as he looked around the table at his family. He lifted his glass as did the rest of the family, Charlene lifted her water glass, and then said, “To family, old and new.”

“To family,” Jacob repeated with the group. He wasn’t toasting to his own family. He was toasting to this one. They weren’t his but he could borrow them if only for a day. His father, nor his grandfather, would have never quoted Dickens at the dinner table. His father was more likely to mumble slurs over a beer than quote classic literature over a glass of wine. Once again, Jacob was struck with the fear that these people would see right through him. They must feel that Mabel would never settle for someone like him. They were all brilliant. He was a security guard. What could he offer these people?

“Excellent choice of quote, sir,” Jenkins told Judson as they began to pass around the Christmas dinner.

“It’s always been one of my favorites,” Judson said with an acknowledging nod.

“Christmas Carol is good yes,” Jacob said with a smile. “But if you’re looking for a Christmas Quote from Dickens then I’ve always preferred _The Pickwick Papers_ , myself.”

“Have you?” Judson asked curiously with an encouraging grin.

Jacob nodded before he began to recite his quote, “Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childish days; that can recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth; that can transport the sailor and the traveller, thousands of miles away, back to his own fire-side and his quiet home!”

“Oh,” Cassandra said as she beamed at him. “That’s lovely!”

He was yet again held hostage by her smile and her eyes. Why did that keep happening? “Yeah, uh--Dickens sure does know how to write a speech.”

“That was spoken very beautifully, Mr. Stone,” Jenkins said with a smirk. “You know your Dickens quite well.”

“Yes, I’ve always loved to read. Though, I favor poetry over fiction, honestly,” Jacob answered.

“Ah, you’re a romantic then,” Charlene said with a chuckle. “Just like Mabel. The two of you will always have your heads in the clouds, I can already tell.”

“Mabel is basically the definition of a romantic. She always carries two books with her, a book of sonnets and—“

Jacob interrupted Cassandra with a chuckle. “A travel guide. It’s a new place every week.” Yeah, he wasn’t a stalker at all. He just noticed things. That was it. Nothing else.

“Exactly, “Cassandra said with a grin. “She took a year off of school to travel. She tried to talk me into joining her. I never would have been able to do that or if I did I would have been very anxious the whole time. It’s hard to enjoy something when you’re worried about losing academic momentum all the time.”

“Seems to me brilliance comes pretty naturally in this family. I don’t think you needed to worry much,” Jacob told her with an amused smile. “I’m sure you would have been fine.”

Cassandra was finally passed the plate of stuffing, the first of the side dishes to reach them, and smiled shyly at him as she added some to her plate and then passed it to him. “I guess we’ll never know.”

“There’s still time,” Jacob told her. “I’ve never been anywhere but that doesn’t mean I won’t get there eventually. You just gotta have the right opportunity.”

“Or person to travel with, eh?” Charlene asked him with a wink.

The first image that appeared in his mind was of himself and Cassandra backpacking through Europe somewhere. What the hell was that? Where had that come from? He barely knew Cassandra! Of course, it’s not like he knew Mabel any better. He gulped and his eyes drifted to Cassandra. He found her eyes on him as well. She let out a quiet gasp and then immediately looked down at her plate.

What just happened?

“Oh, you and Mabel are just so perfect for each other, aren’t they?” Charlene asked the whole table.

Amy rolled her eyes and shook her head. She glanced between Cassandra and himself before she smirked at him and then said, “Yeah, sure mom. Perfect.”

He had a feeling Amy didn’t agree. He needed to get a hold of himself. If he was going to lie to this family then he needed to keep his head on straight. He’d been lying his whole life. He could do this.

Cassandra barely looked at him as she passed him the next side dish.

What Jacob didn’t know is that Cassandra was having her own moment of panic.

She could not have a crush on her sister’s fiancé. No, this was not allowed. But he was so caring and intelligent and he just seemed to… _understand_. Plus, he was much more her type than Mabel’s! Mabel’s significant others tended be darker and broodier than Jacob Stone. There was certainly some sadness in his past but he was far from dark. He was passionate and interested in the world around him. He wasn’t jaded.

Mabel liked to be the dreamy one in the relationship. Jacob was just as much of a dreamer as she was. Cassandra wasn’t sure it would work, but as her sister was currently in a coma she couldn’t exactly tell her that.

Oh god, her sister was in a _coma_. What was she thinking? No, Jacob Stone was off limits. She was not going to go there. No, this was the end of that train of thought. It was banished. Completely banished.

She passed him the next side dish and her hand brushed his. She always thought that talk of “electricity” was complete bull…until now. Oh god, what was _wrong_ with her? He nearly dropped the plate of rolls as their hands brushed and then cleared his throat with a blush as he recovered.

He felt he too. She could tell he did.

Shit. She needed to stay _far away_ from Jacob Stone.

This could not end well. For any of them.

Also, could a person go to hell for crushing on their comatose sister’s fiancé? Because she was headed that way. In fact, she might be there already.

“Cassandra?” Amy asked her from across the table.

She looked up with a dazed expression and Amy carefully lifted the bowl of mashed potatoes into her line of sight.

“I’ve been holding these potatoes for several minutes now. Anybody home?”

“What? Oh sorry!” Cassandra said as she took the bowl from Amy. “I drifted there for a second.”

“What equation did you see this time, dear?” Charlene asked casually as she carved the turkey.

“Oh, um, a new one I’ve been working on. The food made me think of it,” She said with a forced laugh. It was a lie but she could make it work. “Food smells, you know.”

Jacob’s brow furrowed at her. “You _see_ equations?”

She smiled and nodded bashfully. “Sometimes. I’m a number form synesthete. I see math in the air around me. Usually it’s triggered by breakfast smells, but I guess tonight’s dinner was close enough for my messed up brain.”

One lie in the midst of a pretty important truth.

“Wow,” Jacob said with an impressed look. “I can’t even imagine that. I’m horrible a math,” he said with a self deprecating chuckle. “I’m more of a humanities fan myself.”

“Math isn’t so difficult, if you have the right teacher,” she told him. “Most teachers have a hard time making it engaging but I had several growing up who made it seem more like an art than a science. Not to mention, Mr. Jenkins,” Cassandra said as she looked past Jacob to give Jenkins a grateful smile.

“Cassandra was an eager student. I never had to work too hard to make it interesting for her,” Jenkins said with a grin and a laugh. “Don’t let her give me all the credit.”

“Sounds like you might be a good teacher,” Jacob told her. “I’ve heard you talk about teaching twice today and each time you talk about it with such reverence,” he said with a kind smile. “It seems to me that someone with such respect for teachers might be just the kind of person fit to do it.”

Cassandra’s eyes widened for a moment before she cleared her throat and nervously tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear. “Oh no, I could never—I mean that was never really the plan—I’m…I’m very happy with things the way they are now. Really.”

“Right, sorry, it was just an observation,” Jacob said with a small understanding smile.

An awkward silence fell between them and Amy cleared her throat to draw their attention to her before announcing to the table. “Okay, we need to hurry and finish dinner. I’m ready for presents. I’ve been waiting one day longer than necessary already!”

The table chuckled and the conversation moved on. Amy watched Cassandra and Jacob for the rest of the meal, though. Something was happening there. Something big. No one had ever read Cassandra so quickly before. How had he managed it? This was not the kind of person Mabel typically dated. He was too nice. Too compassionate.

Amy was convinced that Jacob was dating the wrong sister. She was going to have to do something about that. She loved Mabel, she did, but Cassandra never had crushes. She never let her guard down enough to really let anyone in. She’d always been focused on her education and her career. Everything else was a distraction. Cassandra was letting Jacob in without even breaking a sweat. That was once in a lifetime. Or at least once in Amy’s lifetime.

 Both of her sisters deserved to be happy, but maybe Mabel didn’t realize that Jacob wouldn’t make her happy. Because he wouldn’t. Not for long anyway. Her sisters had taken care of her long enough. Now it was her turn to take care of them.


	6. Family Traditions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jacob finishes Christmas with Mabel's family and comes away a little confused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updating for Jassandra Summer Fluffathon on jassandratrash on tumblr! Enjoy!

After dinner, the family gathered around the Christmas tree. The tradition was that the youngest member of the family distributed the presents. Amy sat people around the living room and made sure to sit Jacob and Cassandra next to each other and then began to pass out the presents. She left Mabel’s gifts under the tree and the family tried not to feel the absence of the oldest daughter. But Jacob could tell it was in the back of all of their minds. Each person had at least 3 gifts in a pile around them. Jacob smiled fondly as he watched. His family was much larger than this one but they had a very similar tradition. The younger you were, the more presents you ended up with. The same seemed true here because Amy had five presents waiting for her.

To his surprise Amy got to the last gift under the tree and then handed it to him. He accepted it with a furrowed brow.

“For me?" 

She nodded. “It’s from Santa,” Amy said with a knowing grin.

He must have looked as completely flabbergasted as he felt because Cassandra leaned toward him with a kind smile.

“Are you okay?” She asked.

“I, um, I’m not really sure,” he said thoughtfully. “Y’all barely know me and yet…” he let his sentence trail off as he lifted the present for her to see.

“Well,” Cassandra said as she placed a supportive hand on his shoulder. “You’re important to Mabel and so you’re important to us. You’re part of the family now.”

“Yeah, yeah, I guess,” he said with a soft smile. “It’s just been a while since I’ve been a part of a family like this one. This is so much more than what I’m used to.”

“More?” Cassandra asked.

“More love, more care, more interest…just _more_ ,” he admitted self-consciously.

“Then stick with us, Jacob Stone, we’ll give you more of all of those then you can stand. Really,” Cassandra said as she nudged his shoulder playfully. “Trust me, it’ll get old very quickly.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “I doubt that.”

“You doubt it now,” Cassandra said with a laugh. “Give it a week and then we’ll revisit.”

He laughed with her for a moment before they exchanged shy smiles. He cleared his throat and then pointed to the present. “So, when do we open these bad boys?”

“Ready and….” Amy said loudly from her chair by the tree. “Go!”

“Now!” Cassandra told him with a laugh as she ripped her first present open.

Everyone opened their presents at once. His turned out to be a very nice sweater. Probably worth more than he’d spent on a sweater his whole life. He didn’t really know when he’d wear it but the thought was nice. Once that was over Charlene stood up and pushed everyone to stand in front of the tree.

“Alright, now, time for a family photo,” Charlene told them. “Let’s go, line up. We don’t have all night.”

Jacob stayed in his seat and watched patiently as the family erupted into chaos and arranged themselves in front of the tree. Jenkins looked very clearly bored with the whole thing, Charlene and Cassandra were passing Amy around to find the right position for everyone, and Judson stood off to the side and yawned. Jacob chuckled and was more than happy to observe.

Or at least he was until Charlene called his name.

“Alright, Jacob, you can stand right here between Jenkins and Judson.”

Again, they surprised him. They seemed to be doing that a lot tonight. He pointed to himself and gave Charlene a startled look. She nodded and then pushed Amy toward him.

“Bring him over here, will you?” Charlene told her. “Family picture’s not complete without him. Come on, let’s go. Temp—“

“Tempus Fugit,” Cassandra finished for her with a fond smile. “Relax, mom. It’s Christmas.”

“Actually, it’s Boxing Day,” Jenkins corrected her with a grin.

“Not unless we live in a Commonwealth,” Judson said with a shake of his head. “Which, need I remind you, we do not.”

Amy rolled her eyes as she reached him and grabbed his arm. “Get over here before they start naming all the Commonwealth nations. They’ll do it. You know they will.”

He laughed and gave in. He let Amy drag him over to the group and then let Charlene place him between Judson and Jenkins. She set up the camera on the self timer and took a photo.

“Oh, there. That’s going to look perfect in the frame I bought last week. We’ll put it right on top of the mantle,” Charlene said with a smile as she picked up the camera and looked through the photos. She froze suddenly and then grimaced. “Oh no, my hair looks horrible in this one. I can’t print this.”

Cassandra’s shoulders sagged and she chuckled tiredly. “Mom, do you want to take it again?”

“Well, I can’t use this one, can I?” Charlene asked with a huff. “Everybody back in your places!”

“We’ll be at this for at least an hour,” Cassandra told him with a grin. “It’s tradition.”

Jacob laughed and nodded. “We can’t exactly break tradition, can we?”

“Definitely not,” Cassandra agreed with a smirk.

* * *

 

“So, tell us about yourself, Jacob?” Judson asked him as they had coffee and dessert around the coffee table.

“Me?” Jacob asked nervously. He turned a hesitant glance on Cassandra before he looked back at Judson. “I’m, uh, nothing special. Not like all of you. Grew up in Oklahoma. I finished high school, starting working for the family business, finally got up the nerve to tell my family it wasn’t for me, and now I’m here. Working as a museum security guard and trying to figure out what exactly I should be doing with my life. It’s not exactly the life I dreamed about.”

“What was the family business?” Cassandra asked. 

“Oil,” he said simply. “I come from a family of oil riggers.”

“What brought you to the museum?” Jenkins asked him with an intrigued glance.

Jacob smiled wistfully before he answered. “Art. I’ve always loved art.”

“Any specific kind?” Judson asked as he leaned back in his chair with his coffee.

“No, not at all. I have a passion for all of it. Painted, sculpted, written, or built makes no nevermind to me,” Jacob answered.

“Built?” Amy asked with a furrowed brow. “Art can be built?”

“Architecture is just art we live in,” Jacob told her with a wink.

Amy nodded and then looked over at Cassandra. She was biting her bottom lip and staring at Jacob with a look of admiration that Amy had never seen on her sister’s face before. He cleared his throat awkwardly and took a long sip of his coffee before he spoke again.

“You’re the first people other than my boss and my building manager that I’ve truly been myself around,” Jacob told them reluctantly. “It’s still a little new.”

“Wait,” Cassandra said as she turned toward him. “You hid that from your family?”

He nodded and dared to meet Cassandra’s eyes. “They weren’t like all of you. They wouldn’t have known what to think of my dreams and my interests so I kept it to myself for a long while. I thought I was saving everyone a lot of trouble. I see now that I was just delaying the trouble, not preventing it.”

She shook her head in amazement and then smiled softly at him. “I can’t imagine hiding something like that. What you love is a part of who you are and the fact that you love art so much is—well it’s beautiful. I wouldn’t know the first thing about art. My whole life I’ve had to go to Mabel for help with that subject and I’ve always been jealous of her knowledge. The ability to understand and appreciate art is rare and wonderful. You should be proud of it and no one should ever make you feel otherwise.” She reluctantly placed a hand on his arm and squeezed it sympathetically. “And I, for one, admire you for stepping out on your own and daring to be who you truly want to be.” She removed her hand, looked away from him, and let out a small sad sigh of her own.

“Yeah,” Amy said as she gave Cassandra a pointed glance. “It’s the sort of thing that might inspire a person to do the same. Don’t you think, _Cass_?”

Cassandra gave her sister a sharp look before she turned a softer expression back on him. “Yes. Yes, I do.”

Jacob stared at Cassandra for a long moment. No one had ever said those things to him. He’d always wanted someone to say them. He’d often wished he had someone to assure him that he’d made the right decision. He’d needed to know someone understood. Most days it felt like the whole world was against him. He’d forgotten what it was like to have someone in his corner. He’d felt a weight lift off of his shoulders as Cassandra spoke and in it’s place something warm and bright burned in his chest. In fact, at one point during her speech he remembered thinking she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Maybe even more beautiful than Mabel. A tense silence filled the air between them. He couldn’t tell what kind of tension it was though. He knew she felt it too. Neither could seem to look away from each other.

“Cassandra is right, Jacob,” Charlene suddenly said with a nod. “You are a very brave and admirable young man. Our Mabel is very lucky to have found a man of such conviction and passion. Oh, the more I see of you the more I’m convinced that the two of you are meant to be.”

Jacob forced a smile and gulped nervously. “Ah, right. Thank you.” That damn lie. Why did he let himself go along with this? He regretted it now more than ever.

Cassandra stiffened and turned away from him ever so slightly. She’d let herself get carried away before and her mother had just given her a very timely reminder that Jacob was taken. He was engaged to her sister. She needed to push any thoughts that drifted from platonic to the back of her mind. She refused to let herself develop a crush. Though, it might be much too late for that.

Amy bit back a huff and tried not to glare at her mother. Her mother didn’t mean anything by it, in fact, her mother liked Jacob more than she typically liked anyone new. But, the fact remained; that those two were making progress and her mother just totally killed it.

“This pound cake is delicious,” Jenkins said as he tried to fill the awkward silence that had developed. “Where did you buy it, Charlene?”

Charlene glared at him. “How do you know I didn’t _bake_ it, Jenkins?”

Judson laughed loudly and then sobered quickly when Charlene turned her glare on him. “Oh, you were serious?”

Cassandra and Amy giggled in response and Charlene rolled her eyes as she stood from her chair.

“Carla’s Bakery. Happy?” Charlene asked Jenkins with a huff. He nodded but she ignored his response. “They just opened up one block from The Library.” Charlene gathered her mug and her empty plate before she turned to Jacob. “I’m a Librarian at the Metropolitan Public Library. You stop by any time you want to borrow a book, Mr. Stone. I insist.”

He chuckled and nodded. “Absolutely.”

Jacob reluctantly glanced down at his watch. He didn’t want to leave but he could tell it was getting late and he had the early shift tomorrow.

“Don’t tell me you have to leave,” Amy said with a whine as she noticed him looking at his watch.

He laughed and nodded. “Unfortunately, I do. I gotta be at work early in the morning.”

“We finally have somebody interesting over and the night ends at nine o’clock. Figures,” Amy said with a sigh.

“Amy! We have interesting people over all the time,” Charlene said in a chastising tone.

“Yeah, if you call the Library’s unofficial entomology expert interesting,” Amy muttered with a grimace.

“Ew, the bug man?” Cassandra asks. “Mom still has him over?”

“Once a month, Cass. Once a month I have to listen to this man talk to me about _bugs_ in this monotone Ben Stein voice. It’s _horrible_ ,” Amy said dramatically. “Absolutely _horrible_.”

“Mr. Roberts is a very interesting man if you would ever take the time to listen to him,” Charlene told her as she took her dishes to the kitchen. “You could learn a thing or two from him.”

Cassandra smirked and leaned toward Amy and Jacob. “No, she just likes the way he looks in a jacket and tie. If it weren’t for his thick frames and coke bottle glasses—“

“Or that weird toupee,” Amy added.

“He’d actually be conventionally attractive,” Cassandra finished with a grin. “That’s why she has him over. She couldn’t care less about the study of bugs.”

Charlene came back into the living room with a large paper bag and shoved it into Jacob’s lap. “There are some left overs to take home with you, Mr. Stone. We have more food than we can eat. You just have to take some home. I won’t take no for an answer.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I always accept left overs. Especially from a meal as good as the one we had tonight,” Jacob told her with a smile and a wink. He stood and headed for the door. He turned to find the whole family had followed him. He wasn’t expecting that. Maybe Charlene or Amy would follow him but not the entire family.

They walked him to the door as a group and then as he headed out into the cold night air, Charlene called after him, “Don’t be a stranger, Jacob. You’re one of us now. Remember that.”

“It’s not as bad as it sounds, Mr. Stone,” Judson said with a smirk. “We promise.”


	7. Partners

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amy recruits some help in her matchmaking efforts.

 

After Jacob left, Cassandra and Amy went upstairs to get ready for bed. Cassandra had her own apartment but for the sake of recreating Christmas she was staying the night in her old bedroom. Amy knocked on Cassandra’s bedroom door and was immediately let in by a grinning Cassandra.

“Why are you so smiley?” Amy asked suspiciously.

“I’m always smiley.”

“Not like that, you aren’t,” Amy told her with a grin. “You look sort of…goofy.”

Cassandra rolled her eyes and chuckled. “Gee, thanks, sis.”

“So,” Amy asked as she shut Cassandra’s bedroom door behind her. “What do you think of Jacob?”

She hesitated to answer and bit her bottom lip while she thought. Amy knew that look. She was trying to decide what to say that wouldn’t give her away.

“I thought he was very… _impressive_ ,” She said with a small smile. “Very intelligent and caring and self deprecating. He dealt with all of our craziness rather well too. All in all, I’d say he’s a pretty good fit for all of us.”

“Not exactly a good fit for Mabel though,” Amy said as she watched her sister carefully for a reaction.

Cassandra sighed and gave Amy a scolding look. “That’s not fair. We haven’t seen them together. Maybe it’s different when they’re together.”

Amy’s eyes widened. “That’s not disagreeing with me.”

“I don’t have to agree or disagree. He’s with her. Obviously he loves her or he wouldn’t have proposed. So, that’s the end of that.” Cassandra told her younger sister. “Whether we think they’re right together or not doesn’t matter.”

“You totally agree with me,” Amy said with a smirk.

“I didn’t say that.”

“But you didn’t say you disagree either which must mean you agree with me,” Amy told her with a chuckle as she stuck out her tongue playfully. “You know I’m right.”

“It doesn’t matter, Amy,” Cassandra told her with a sigh. “Mabel wants him and he wants her. Who are we to get in the way of that? Besides, he’s a nice guy. If they make each other happy then we should leave them be. Okay?”

Amy narrowed her eyes at Cassandra but said nothing.

“Amy, we leave them be, _got it_?” Cassandra asked her expectantly.

Amy huffed and nodded. “Fine.” Cassandra glared at her with disbelief before Amy threw her hands up and rolled her eyes. “ _Got it_.”

“Good.”

“So, what about you?” Amy asked her. “Any interesting guys buzzing around you?”

“Not interesting _enough_ no,” she said with a sigh. “But that’s fine. I’m a mess. I should probably get myself together first before I get involved with anyone else, don’t you think?”

Amy chuckled and gave her sister a teasing look. “If you wait on that then you’re _never_ going to be involved with anyone else.”

“What did I do to deserve such a supportive sister?” Cassandra asked her with a playful grin and a roll of her eyes.

“I’m just saying, this whole family is full of dysfunctional messes. If you’re expecting to be perfect at any point in your life then odds are you’ll be disappointed. Not even Mabel is _that perfect_ ,” Amy said with a shrug.

Cassandra scoffed. “No, she is. She definitely is.”

“Doubtful,” Amy muttered.

“You didn’t grow up along side of her, Amy,” Cassandra said with a sigh. “Believe me, she’s as close to perfect as a human can get.”

“That’s funny,” Amy said as she nudged Cassandra’s shoulder. "That’s what I’ve always thought about you.”

“Me?” Cassandra asked her in shock.

“You’re crazy intelligent, beautiful, caring. Your teachers always loved you. You had your choice of academic scholarship at any college you wanted…That’s a lot to live up to,” Amy told her. “I mean I don’t mind and I don’t resent you for any of it but I’ve always thought if I was striving for perfect then I was striving to be like you. You deserve to be happy just as much as Mabel does,” Amy told her as she sat down next to Cassandra on her bed. “Don’t forget that.”

Cassandra smiled affectionately at her younger sister and pulled her in for a hug. “When exactly did you become so wise?”

“A lifetime in this family would make anyone wise beyond their years. I mean at one point in time Grandpa had a full head of hair. Who knew?” Amy asked teasingly.

Cassandra laughed and shook her head at her sister. “Come on, let’s change into our PJs and go back downstairs. I think mom’s making cocoa.”

* * *

 

The next day Amy had an idea. She didn’t have school till after the New Year. All the adults except for her grandfather were back at work. Her mother was trusting her to be productive and not just sit around the house. What better way to be productive and further her education than by visiting a museum? She still had one of the free passes Mabel gave her two of every year. Granted that was typically to be used for a family day so they could all visit her at work, but…this was to serve the greater good.

Amy waited until everyone had left the house and her grandfather had left for his doctor’s appointment before she set out for the museum. Jacob said he was working today and if she was going to do this, a little more investigation was necessary. She texted her friend, Dashell, and he met her at the curb with a cab.

“A cab? We could just take the train.”

He shrugged. “My Uncle’s driving into the city for work anyway. He’s driving us with out taking a fare. I say take a free ride when you can get it.”

“Also good to make sure it’s not, you know, from a serial killer,” she said with a grin and chuckle.

“Yes, good call,” he agreed with a smirk as he held the door open for her. “After you.”

She slid into the cab and Dashell slid in after her.

“So, why the sudden need to go to a museum?” He asked curiously.

“You’ll see,” she told him. “Once I show you what I’m working on I might ask for your help.”

He grimaced. “This isn’t another STEM project is it? I’m happy to set up a booth or hold your demonstration props but not over Christmas break.”

“No, nothing like that,” she told him mischievously. “You know my sister, Cassandra?”

“The one that likes me?” He asked with a nod.

“Mabel likes you,” Amy assured him.

“Yeah, okay, sure,” He said sarcastically.

“She does! She doesn’t like how close—“ she stopped herself as she realized what she was saying and then cleared her throat nervously. “Um, how close we are. You know, as friends.”

“Uh huh,” he said with a small knowing smile. “Friends.”

“ _Anyway_ ,” Amy said with a sigh. “I think I found a guy for Cassandra. I want you to meet him.”

“Why? So I can help you play matchmaker?” He asked.

“We’re the best team there is,” she told him. “If anyone’s going to help me make sure Cassandra’s happy then I’d like it to be you.”

“Because we’re _friends_?” He asked with a smirk.

“Y—yes,” she told him with a nod. “Friends.”

The ride into the city didn’t take very long. Dashell’s uncle dropped them off at the front entrance and almost immediately picked up a paying fare. It was cold and the tourists were starting to arrive for New Years so the streets were busy. Amy gave them her pass for herself and a guest and then turned to the guard station expectantly.

“Jacob!” She yelled as she grabbed Dashell’s hand and dragged him over to the guard station.

Jacob looked surprised and alarmed to see her running toward him, but that was soon replaced with a fond smile.

“Amy!” He said brightly. “What are you doing here?”

She shrugged. “Bored. School’s still out and I can’t work on that STEM project _all the time_ you know? So I thought Dashell might like to see the museum and then I thought I might go visit Mabel. Have you seen her today?”

“Not yet,” he told her. “I was thinking I’d go visit her on my lunch break.”

“I’m sure she’d like that,” Amy said with a nod. “I think Cassandra was going to go visit her on her lunch break too. I wonder if you guys have the same one?”

“I don’t know,” he said with a shrug.

“You should call her!” Amy said with a bright smile. “Maybe you can visit Mabel together and get a bite to eat.”

“Yeah, maybe,” he said awkwardly before he turned toward Dashell. “Who’s your friend?”

“Oh! Sorry!” Amy told him. “This is Dashell. Dashell, this is Mabel’s fiancé.”

Dashell started to gasp in surprise but covered it quickly by coughing. He gave Amy a startled look before shaking Jacob’s hand. “I, uh, didn’t know Mabel was engaged.”

“Neither did we,” Amy said with a smirk. “Not until recently.”

“Mabel’s engaged?” A new voice asked. “Mabel Collins, the curator?”

Amy looked up to see a tall, beautiful, blonde woman in a pant suit giving the three of them a questioning glance.

“Yeah,” Amy told her. “To him.” She pointed to Jacob and the woman’s mouth immediately dropped open and her brow furrowed.

“I’m sorry, what?” She asked with a loud dismissively laugh. “This guy couldn’t even talk—“

“Hey, listen, Amy, you know it’s been great seeing you but I really think I should get back to work,” Jacob said urgently as he interrupted the blonde woman. “You guys enjoy the museum, okay? Let me know if you need anything.”

“Yeah, sure, will do! See you later, Jacob!” Amy said with a curious expression as she pulled Dashell away.

“You didn’t tell me the guy was already engaged to your other sister!” Dashell said in a loud whisper.

“Doesn’t matter,” Amy said dismissively.

“What? Why not? It seems like a big deal,” Dashell said in confusion.

“He’s not right for Mabel. I’m gonna help him see that. I’m gonna help _everyone_ see that,” Amy said with a nod. “His tall blonde friend seems to agree with me if her reaction is any indication.”

“I’ll give you that one,” Dashell said as they looked back to find the blonde woman with a hand on her hip giving Jacob a very parental stare. “And who doesn’t tell their friends or coworkers they’re engaged? Or their family? Don’t you think that’s a little odd?”

Amy shrugged. “Mabel has always been a bit impulsive and secretive. But…well, his friend did seem very shocked. Like she didn’t even know they’d been dating.” She turned and looked back at them thoughtfully again. “You’d think they’d at least clue their friends in on that, right?”

“If I was crazy enough about someone to propose I’d hope that it’d be obvious before the proposal, you know?” Dashell told her honestly.

Amy smiled softly at him and nodded. “That’s sweet, Dashell.” She reached over and laced her fingers through his. “Come on, let’s look around since we’re here. I’ll show you my favorites. Then maybe we can get some lunch or something.”

He quirked a brow at her. “If I didn’t know any better I’d think that sounded like a date.”

Amy blushed and shrugged. “We’ll see how it goes.”

As it turned out, it went really well. Though, it didn’t distract Amy from her mission. On their way out for lunch she slipped Jacob a museum guide with Cassandra’s number on it. He sighed but smiled weakly before dodging the glare his blonde friend gave him. 

Something else was definitely going on here and, honestly, all it did was give her hope. She was on the right track and now she had Dashell to help her.


	8. Stuck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jacob confides in Eve.

“You’re engaged?” Eve asked with her arms folded across her chest. “Since when?”

“Since Christmas?” He said hesitantly.

“The day before yesterday?” She asked with a flat tone and a quirked brow.

“I—it’s a long story.”

“Good thing it’s your break then, isn’t it?” She asked as she grabbed him by the jacket and motioned for another guard to take Jacob’s spot.

“My break isn’t for another hour—“

“I’m your boss. Your break is when I say it is,” Eve said sternly as she dragged him toward her office. She shut the door behind him and then closed the blinds on her windows. “How are you engaged to Mabel Collins when the day before yesterday is when she had her accident?” He stared at Eve thoughtfully for a long moment before she huffed and motioned to one of the chairs in her office. “Look, Stone, you need a friend. Now, I know I’m also your boss but take friendship where you can get it okay? What happened?”

“Well, Remember I called you about the accident and asked if I could follow her to the hospital?” He paused to see if Baird remembered. She nodded and then he continued, ignoring her offer to sit. “Well, her family showed up and somehow the nurse got the impression that Mabel and I were engaged and she just blurted out to the family that I was her fiancé. I was going to explain. Really, I was, but the grandfather, Judson, has a heart condition and the mother just seemed so grateful to be a part of Mabel’s life again and then she has this little sister—“

“The girl that came in earlier?” Eve asked as she watched him pace with a blank expression.

“Yes, her. She’s a genius. They’re all geniuses. All of them. They were so happy to hear Mabel had someone. I couldn’t—I mean they’ve been through enough as it is I couldn’t bring myself to dash their hopes like that, you know? And then there’s Cassandra—“

“Cassandra?” Eve asked.

“The sister.”

“The little one?” She asked in confusion.

“No, that’s Amy. Cassandra’s the middle one.”

“There’s another sister?”

“Yes, Mabel has two sisters, a mother, a grandfather, and a Jenkins.”

“What the hell’s a Jenkins?” Eve asked as she tried to file away the family members and the names he’d revealed.

“He’s a family friend—though he knows.”

“Knows that you’re not really engaged to Mabel? Because you’re not, right? I’m confused,” Eve said with a shake of her head.

“Yes,” Jacob said with a sigh. He was actually starting to confuse himself a little bit. “Jenkins knows I’m not engaged to Mabel. But he’s helping me keep the secret because he thinks telling them would hurt more than it would help. Or at least I think that’s what he meant by our conversation. It was kind of cryptic.”

“So, you’re fake engaged to a girl in a coma and her family has adopted you and their family friend is helping you keep this all going? Because the grandfather has a heart problem and you don’t want to kill him?” She asked. “Did I get the gist?”

He nodded. “Basically.”

“Basically? What more is there?”

“I—I don’t know I like them. I really like them. They encourage education and debate and conversation. The world is bigger than their backyard and their dreams stretch outside of a five mile radius. I quoted Dickens and no one thought it was out of the ordinary. I—they’re—“

“The family you always wanted but were never lucky enough to have,” Baird said with a sigh and an understanding nod. “I get it.”

“This is crazy, right? I mean I should just tell them,” he said with a shake of his head.

“Are you kidding me? No,” Baird said with a furrowed brow.

“What?” That was not the reaction he expected.

“Look, when I told my dad I was leaving NATO to be a security guard his appendix burst. Now, maybe they weren’t related but why risk it? They’re attached to you now. Plus, you’re right they’ve been through a lot. You tell them, now that they’ve basically adopted you, and--well—you might as well shoot grandpa,” Baird said with a shake of her head.

He winced and then buried his head in his hands. “How do I get myself into these things?”

“I gotta admit, for someone who doesn’t know any body in this city, this whole predicament is quite an accomplishment,” Baird said with a smirk.

“I blame you.”

“Me?” She asked. “Why?”

“You made me work on Christmas. If I hadn’t somebody else would have saved Mabel,” he told her with a sigh.

Baird suddenly remembered the museum guide with a phone number on it that Jacob had pocketed earlier. “So, what was on that museum guide the little sister gave you?”

“Cassandra’s number,” Jacob told her as he pulled the guide out of his pocket and read the name. “Probably so I can keep in touch with the family.”

She grinned at him. “Cassandra’s the middle sister? Why her number? Why not the mother’s?”

“Maybe Cassandra’s easier to get a hold of?” Jacob asked thoughtfully.

“Yeah, I bet she is,” Baird said with a chuckle.

“This is serious, Eve,” he said with as he nervously ran his hands through his hair. “What do I do?”

“I say roll with it,” she told him. “If she wakes up then she’ll straighten it out and if she doesn’t—“

“Don’t say that,” Jacob said with a glare.

“Hey, it’s not that I want that to happen but it’s a possible outcome in this scenario and if she doesn’t come out of then no one will be the wiser,” Eve said sympathetically. “It’s not easy but it’s not as though you’re really hurting anyone. I think your friend Jenkins is right. Telling them might hurt more than it’ll help.”

“So I’m stuck?” He asked with a tired sigh. 

“You’re stuck.”

* * *

 

Cassandra had come by after work to help her mother and grandfather with their computers. As ridiculously intelligent as they both were the digital age was still a bit too much for them and Amy was out with Dashell so it was up Cassandra. She was currently showing Judson how to create and delete a short cut for his desktop when Amy and Dashell strolled through the door.

“Guess where we went today?” Amy asked excitedly as she bounded over to her sister and grandfather.

“Education Express?” Cassandra asked. “You were going to get supplies for your project—“

“Nothing work or school related,” she clarified with a sigh.

“Thank goodness,” Dashell said with a chuckle.

When neither Cassandra or Judson guessed Amy held up a museum guide for them to see.

“Amy,” Cassandra said in a scolding tone. “You didn’t!”

“What? I just wanted to say hello,” She told her sister with a knowing smirk.

“Did you get to talk to Jacob?” Judson asked curiously.

“A little. He was working so it was difficult,” Amy admitted.

“Yeah, and his boss was basically glaring over his shoulder the whole time,” Dashell told her. He didn’t mention that it was because his boss didn’t seem to know Jacob and Mabel were engaged and they’d accidentally told her.

“You know,” Judson said thoughtfully. “I meant to talk to Charlene about this the other night. We really should get them an engagement present. There’s a bottle of wine in the cellar downstairs that would be perfect.”

By cellar he really meant coldest corner of the basement.

Amy’s eyes brightened considerably and she grinned triumphantly. “I have his address. Cassandra has to go that way to get home anyway. She could drop it off for you tonight.”

“I could?” Cassandra asked with a slight glare.

“Yes, that would be wonderful. We really shouldn’t have let him leave the other night without an engagement present. Thank you, Cassandra,” Judson said as he tossed a discrete wink at Amy.

Amy blinked at him for a moment. Did he know what she was up to? Was he helping her? No, he couldn’t be. Could he?

“Um, Oh—Okay,” Cassandra told him. "I’ll get it before I leave today." Amy could almost see her screaming internally. She already looked like a big ball of nerves. “I should go find mom and help her with her computer.”

“I’ll text you his address,” Amy called after her. His address that she obtained unofficially from Google and the White Pages. She was dying to know how Jacob was going to react to Cassandra suddenly showing up at his door. One day into this matchmaking thing and she’d already gotten them alone together.

 _Man_ , Amy thought, _I’m good._

* * *

 

Flynn glared at his computer screen as he tried to work up the motivation to type. The words would come if he could just start a sentence. He hoped. There was knock on his door and he sighed before answering.

His eyes widened in surprise. “Jones, did you just use a front door? Has hell frozen over?”

“No, but given the choice of using front doors and finding a new place to live I’ll choose using front doors. Believe it or not, this building is extremely entertaining. Better than reality TV, honestly,” Ezekiel said with a chuckle. “In fact, I learned something interesting while climbing up the fire escape to my flat last night.”

“Climbing up the fire escape to—That’s not a front door,” Flynn said with a sigh.

“You said I needed to use doors to other people’s apartments. I was headed to my own,” he said with a cheeky grin. “Do you want to know what I learned or not?”

“Well, we know you didn’t learn any lessons about respecting other people’s privacy,” Flynn said with a shake of his head.

“Our very odd cowboy is engaged,” Ezekiel said as if he couldn’t keep the information to himself any longer.

‘What?” Flynn asked in shock. “When? How? To _who_?”

“I don’t know. I just heard him grumbling to himself about it last night. Must’ve had a fight with the bird before heading home. He was pretty upset,” Ezekiel said with a shrug. “Keep an eye out for a girl visiting him. Let me know if you see one. I want to see the kind of woman who’d agree to marry a backwards country person like our bookworm ex-oil rigger.”

“How did you know he used to be an Oil rigger?” Flynn asked. “He only told me because he had to put it on his application for the apartment.”

Jones smirked and pointed to himself. “Ex-MI 6, remember?”

“You’re like twelve. Do you think I believed that story?” Flynn asked him with a roll of his eyes. 

“I never lie, mate,” Ezekiel said with a chuckle. “It’s too easy to lie.”


	9. Coffee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jacob and Cassandra go out for coffee.

Cassandra was going to kill Amy. She definitely did this on purpose. Why was she pushing this? Jacob was engaged. _To Mabel_. Cassandra needed to keep her distance. But no, here she was bringing Jacob an expensive bottle of wine as an _engagement_ present from her mother and grandfather. Alone. To see him. Alone.

It was fine. Totally fine. She’d just hand him the wine, exchange small talk, and leave. There, done. No harm, no foul.

She bit her bottom lip as she stepped into his building. She passed a young guy on her way through the door.

“Hi,” she said as she stopped him. “Jacob Stone is apartment 2C, right?”

“Yeah,” he said with a thick Australian accent. “Up the stairs, the door furthest down the hall on the left side.”

“Thanks,” she said with a small smile.

She didn’t see the guy duck into the apartment by the front entrance and point her out to the man inside, but she certainly felt eyes on her as she walked. She suddenly thought about what this must look like to his neighbors. She was showing up at his apartment, alone, with a bottle of wine.

Oh, this was so embarrassing.

* * *

 

Jacob had barely gotten home. He had changed out of his work clothes and was cleaning out his pockets before he tossed the clothes in the wash. The guide Amy had written Cassandra’s number on fell out of his pocket and onto the floor. He picked it up and stared at it for a long moment.

He shouldn’t feel compelled to call her. She thought he was engaged. Besides, he was practically in love with Mabel, wasn’t he?

But there was something about her that he couldn’t get over. He’d been thinking about her almost all day. Even when he wasn’t aware he was thinking about her. The little he was able to speak with Cassandra had been more than intriguing. He felt he could trust her for some strange reason and he had this urge to open up to her. Even in their few conversations the other night he’d revealed more than he’d intended. So had she, actually. Not that he minded. He was curious as hell about her. She wasn’t Mabel. Mabel was calm and collected and quietly passionate. Cassandra was the exact opposite.

But she thought he was taken and, if he wanted to maintain that belief like he’d decided he needed to do then, he would have to keep his distance. He walked toward the trashcan to throw the guide away but couldn’t bring himself to do it. He couldn’t let go of it. Instead, as if acting completely on it’s own, his hand gripped it tighter and then slid the folded up guide inside of his wallet.

He’d better keep it. Just in case.

What if he needed to contact Mabel’s family in a hurry? That number was all he had.

Better safe than sorry or at least that’s what he told himself.

He put his wallet back in his pocket as a knock sounded at his door. His brow furrowed. He wasn’t expecting any company. Flynn had locked himself in his apartment to write and Jones wouldn’t bother with the door at all. Who could that possibly be?

* * *

 

The door opened and Jacob stared at her for a long moment. She blushed and bit her bottom lip nervously. The silence stretched out for an awkward moment before Jacob finally cleared his throat. He shook his head as if he were bringing himself out of a trance.

“I—uh, hi.”

She chuckled and grinned at him. “Hi.” She saved him from speaking again by holding up the bottle of wine and the card her mother had written to go with it. “My mother and grandfather wanted me to drop off an engagement present for you and Mabel.”

“Oh! Right,” he said with a nod as he accepted the wine and set it down on a table by his door. “Tell them I— _we_ appreciate it.”

“I will,” she said as she tucked a hair behind her ear. “Well, I suppose I should go then if—“

“You, um, want to go get some coffee or something?” Jacob asked as he interrupted her goodbye. What was he doing? Hadn’t he just been thinking he needed to keep his distance? “There’s a shop around the corner. I’d offer you some of mine but, um,-“ he pulled the door shut behind him. “My place is sort of a mess.” Which it was, a little. But really he just wasn’t sure being alone with her in a private place was a good idea. Not that he liked her or anything. She was his fake-fiance’s sister. Oh God, he was in a mess.

She smirked at him. “You mean to tell me you weren’t expecting company? I’m shocked you couldn’t sense that I was coming over unexpectedly.”

He chuckled and nodded. “I’ll work on that.”

“You do that,” she said with a laugh. “And I would love to get some coffee.”

Even though it was probably a bad idea, she thought to herself as she bit back a sigh. _He’s taken, Cassandra. Remember that. Repeat it to yourself over and over if you have to._

He locked his apartment door and then they walked out of the building and down the block to a little local shop. So far the conversation had been slow and very safe. How was your day? _How is your family?_ I heard Amy came to visit you at work. _Did she and her friend have a good time?_

Now they were sitting down with their coffees and the awkward silence was back.

“So, has my mother called you about Judson’s birthday party yet?” She asked before she took a sip of her coffee.

His brow furrowed. “No, Judson’s birthday is coming up?”

She nodded. “The 29th. Mom rented this room at the local community center and under the circumstances she tried to cancel but they wouldn’t give her back her deposit so the party is apparently going on as planned. I would expect a call from her. She’s going to try and recruit you for the heavy lifting,” Cassandra warned him with an amused smile.

“Noted,” he said with a laugh. “I’m surprised your family has…included me so quickly.”

“I’m not,” she told him with a warm smile. “With anyone else I would be but you…I don’t know, you fit with all of us. So I’m really not surprised by how quickly everyone has taken to you.”

“Jenkins told me that--” he gave her a hesitant look before he continued. He was unsure if this was a sensitive topic or not. “--that you and your sisters were adopted?”

She nodded with a nostalgic smile. “Yes, Mabel and I were adopted as babies. Amy was adopted as a toddler,” Cassandra grinned fondly and pulled her wallet out of her bag. She opened it and showed him one of the photos in the middle section. “Here she is on the day we officially adopted her. She was the cutest thing.”

He smiled softly at the picture of Charlene, Judson, the man he supposed was Charlene’s ex, and the three girls. Mabel and Cassandra looked to be in their late teens and Amy was tiny with long dark ringlets.

“She had such a huge vocabulary for a four year old,” Cassandra said with a shake of her head and a smile. “That’s what caught mom and dad’s attention, so they said.”

“And your dad?”

“He is in England, actually. He’s a professor at Oxford. He comes to visit every Easter,” she said as she closed the wallet and put it away. Her demeanor had changed and she was much more closed off. So, Amy was a point of pride and her dad was a point of pain. Now he knew.

“I’m sorry,” he said with an apologetic tone.

She shook her head and smiled sadly at him. “You didn’t do anything. Academics have always taken priority in my family. We all sort of struggle with the effects of that now. I’m sure you know,” she said with a chuckle. “Mabel struggled with that the most.”

He rubbed his neck nervously and nodded. “Yeah, yeah, we talked about that.”

“Mom’s the only one who really sacrificed her career for us. She’s stayed at the library because the schedule worked best for her family,” Cassandra told him. “The three of us owe her a lot.”

“Is that why you work where you do?” He asked her. He didn’t know if he should be bringing up something that came up briefly at Christmas dinner. He didn’t know how she’d react to it. “You feel like you owe it to her to, what, be the perfect daughter?”

She sat back in her chair and seemed to slide as far away from him as she could. “Wow, you just dove right in, didn’t you?”

“Sorry,” he said with a wince. “You know, you wouldn’t know it, but the overly personal questions are funny coming from me. Never really let myself get personal with anyone back in Oklahoma. Let’s start over, yeah? Pretend I didn’t cross a line just now.”

“No,” she said with a shake of her head. “It’s fine. I just—I wasn’t expecting it,” she told him. “I’ve never really talked to anyone about—“ she stopped her own sentence and sighed. “I just want my family to be happy. It’s as simple as that.”

“Yeah,” he said as he met her eyes. “I remember that feeling. I wanted my dad to be happy with me so I hid who I really was. But I feel like your situation has something mine didn’t.”

“What’s that?” She asked sadly.

“Respect,” Jacob told her. “Your family loves you, Cassandra. I don’t think they’d stop you form pursuing anything you wanted.”

“I just want my family to stay together,” she told him. “The last year has been sort of…strange. I don’t want a repeat of that.”

“Repeat of what?” He asked in confusion.

She gave him a strange look. “Mabel didn’t tell you?”

“Uh, well, you know, things have been moving kinda fast so—“ he lied.

“Right, well, her and mom have been clashing this year. So much that Mabel’s put some distance between herself and the rest of us and I just want that resolved. Airing out my regrets and wishes won’t do that. It’ll pile more on and mom’s had enough stress this year, you know?” She asked him rhetorically.

“You’re compensating for Mabel,” Jacob said in understanding. “I get it. But…you shouldn’t deny yourself what you really want _all_ the time, Cassandra. Trust me. I did that. It doesn’t make anything better.”

She looked thoughtful for a long moment and then breathed in and out very slowly. She shook her head and took a sip of her coffee. “I think we’ve talked enough about me,” she said with a small smile. “I want to hear about you.”

He chuckled dryly and shook his head. “Not much to tell, honestly.”

“I doubt that,” Cassandra said with a warm smile and a shake of her head. “I mean I know, from what you’ve said so far, that your family wasn’t very encouraging but look at you now. You’re here on a whole new adventure finally being who you really are. That’s pretty amazing. And despite however they treated you, you’re obviously very intelligent. Self taught I’d imagine, right?” She asked. “Reading and studying independently…”

“At night after everyone else in my house had gone to bed,” he admitted sheepishly.

“See? Impressive,” she told him with an admiring glance. “You didn’t end up going to college?”

He shook his head. “No, family business came first to my old man. Anything other than that was a betrayal.”

“Would you want to go now?” She asked him curiously. “I’m sure you’re beyond capable of being accepted into any university in the city. You seem like you’d be the perfect student.”

“Well, languages, history, art, and English all came very easily to me,” he said with a light blush. He really wasn’t used to anyone praising his intelligence, she noticed. How adorable could he be? “It’s advanced math and science that I’m not entirely comfortable with and with any course of study I’d have to take those as core curriculum. Now math, I might be okay with. I have some engineering and architecture knowledge but science…”

“I could help you,” Cassandra offered eagerly. “Those are my two strongest subjects. Obviously.”

Why in the world did she do that? She asked herself as she tried not to grimace. She didn’t need more time alone with Jacob Stone. She already liked him too much without any alone time.

“You would do that?” He asked with a soft smile.

She shrugged and smiled shyly at him. “If you love learning like I do then the best place for you is a university or a school. If I can help you get there then I will. Besides, I’d think you’d be fine. Science and math shouldn’t stop you from pursuing a degree if you really want one.”

“And nothing should stop _you_ from teaching if _you_ really want to,” Jacob told her with a grin. “I bet you’d be a brilliant teacher. Probably everyone’s favorite teacher.”

She laughed and rolled her eyes. “Flattery will get you no where.”

“Not the case in my experience, besides it’s not flattery if it’s the truth,” he told her kindly. His cell phone began to ring from his pocket and his brow furrowed. He pulled out the phone and gave Cassandra an apologetic look while he answered. He smirked in amusement and gave Cassandra a knowing look as the voice on the other end began to ramble on. “Ms. Charlene,” he said after the voice had been talking for a moment. “Judson’s birthday?”

Cassandra laughed loudly and shook her head.

“Yes, I’d love to help. Dinner? Tomorrow night? Sure I’ll be there,” he told her. “Yes, that would definitely be a good time to discuss the party plans. Yes, of course. Right, see you tomorrow.” He hung up the phone and pocketed it.

“I warned you,” Cassandra said with a smirk.

“You did, but to be honest I’m just honored to be included,” he told her. “My family wasn’t like yours. I’m enjoying being a part of it.”

“Well, we’re enjoying having you be a part of it,” she said with a warm smile. She glanced down at her watch and sighed regretfully. “I should probably get home.”

“Me too,” he said with a nod.

“Thanks for the coffee, Jacob,” she said as she met his eyes. “And the talk. I would ask though that you not, you know, tell anyone any of it?”

“Cross my heart,” he promised. “Won’t say a word.”

They both stood up and he helped her with her coat. She tried not to notice how he smelled like the best and most masculine cocktail she could think of as he helped her. She didn’t succeed. This shouldn’t feel like a date. He was taken.

“Let me walk you to your car,” Jacob said as he held the coffee shop door open for her.

“Oh no, you don’t have to—“

“Really, I wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t,” he assured her.

She laughed and nodded. “Is this a part of that southern charm thing?”

“I hope it’s part of that being a gentleman thing,” he told her with a grin. “Guys round here don’t walk girls to their cars or their apartments?”

He’d almost slipped and called her his date. Good thing he’d caught himself.

“None that I’ve been on da—that I’ve hung out with,” she said as she urgently tried to cover up what she’d almost said. Shit, she needed to get out of there.

They fell back into small talk until they had almost reached her car when a patch of ice interrupted her sentence. She yelped as she slipped and Jacob immediately reached out to steady her. The momentum of her stumble had pulled him onto the patch of ice with her.

She laughed and blushed in embarrassment. “Only me.”

Stone tested his ability to move on the ice and found himself rather unsteady too. On instinct he gripped her waist tighter. “Trust me, it’s not just you,” he said with a chuckle. “Can you maybe scoot off the ice? Or are you as unstable as I am?”

She bit her bottom lip and tried to slide her right foot off of the ice. Her left foot moved a fraction of an inch and slid out of under her. She gasped and wrapped her arms around his neck as she fell. He laughed and tried his best to turn them both as they hit the ground. Hoping his back would take most of the fall. He grunted as he hit the ground and as Cassandra landed on top of him.

“Oh my god I am so sorry!” she exclaimed. “Are you okay? Are you hurt? Did you hit anything?”

“I’m fine,” he said with a chuckle. “Totally fine. You?”

“Well, I’m mortified but other than that, yes, I’m fine too.”

“No need to be mortified, Cassie,” he said with a grin. “You’re actually kinda cute when you fall.”

She rolled her eyes and smacked his chest. “Liar.”

“Not anymore. Definitely not to you,” he said with a laugh as he pulled them both to a sitting position. “You got any traction over there?”

The ice still surrounded her feet and she huffed. “No.”

His feet had landed on wet pavement instead of ice so he nodded. “Don’t worry, I got this.” He carefully slid out of her arms, which she realized too late were still around him. Embarrassingly enough. And then stood. He held out a hand to help her up. “I’ll slide you off the ice until you can find some traction to stand.”

She nodded and placed her hands in his. She slid, on her butt, to the edge of the ice and laughed at herself the entire time. “My butt is so numb and I am so embarrassed.”

He pulled her up to a standing position and smirked. “No worries. I won’t tell anyone.”

They were standing mere inches apart and she shook her head. “That’s not what I’m worried about. I’m embarrassed it took so little time for you to see what an actual klutz I am.”

“Please,” he told her with a scoff. “I have walked into so many poles and doors while reading. Slipping on the ice is far less embarrassing than being knocked on your ass by a pole.”

She laughed and forced herself to step out of his space. Being that close to him felt way too natural for her comfort. They finished the few steps to her car and Jacob held her car door open for her as she stepped inside.

“Have a good night, Cassie,” He said with a grin and a nod.

No one had ever called her that before but she wasn’t going to tell him that. “You too, Jacob. I’ll see you at dinner tomorrow.”

“Absolutely.”

She noticed him watching her pull away from the curb and let out a pathetic whimper. God was she screwed. In one cup of coffee she’d confirmed what she’d suspected. She had a massive crush on her sister’s fiancé.

 “I’m the worst sister ever, aren’t I?” She thought with a guilty wince. “Yes, yes I am.”

* * *

 

Jacob ran a hand through his hair as Cassandra drove away. He really had to work hard to control himself during those last few minutes. He was forced to hold her close to him. He was forced to realize she smelled like lavender and vanilla. To see just how absolutely stunning her blue eyes were and then with a blush…

Hell, she was the prettiest woman he’d ever stood that close to.

And he couldn’t do a damn thing about it. He couldn’t ask her out. He couldn’t show any interest, though he was almost certain he’d failed. He’d flirted without even trying. He never flirted without knowing he was flirting. He was very careful about that and always had been. When you lived two lives the way he used to picking up a woman at a bar was a much a show for your friends as it was something enjoyable for him. You had to pick the girl they expected you to. So he was careful who he flirted with. But with Cassandra…

He couldn’t have stopped himself. He had no defenses against her.

And he was pretty sure he was screwed.

He thought he had a crush on Mabel, but his crush on Mabel didn’t feel anything like this. There was a dull ache in his chest and knots in his stomach yet it wasn’t at all unpleasant. 

Shit, he really was screwed.


	10. Awkwardly Awkward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassandra visits Jacob at work and things get...awkward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is for 12 Days of Jassandra!! Enjoy!

“I think I’m in love with her,” Jacob blurted to Eve as he pulled her inside her office.

“Mabel? I already knew that,” Eve said with a roll of her eyes.

“No, not her. The other one.”

“The little one?” She asked with a grimace.

“Gross, no. Cassandra,” Jacob said with a huff.

“Ah, the middle sister. Wait, what? How can you be in love with her? You’ve only known her for like three days,” Eve asked.

“I don’t know! But I really think I am! Yesterday she came over to give me an engagement present for me and Mabel—“

“Which still is not a real engagement, right?”

“Of course not,” He said with a sigh.

“Just checking,” Eve said as she held her hands up in surrender. “Continue.”

“And then afterward we went for coffee and ended up talking and I think—I think it was a date. I mean, it felt like a date.”

“So, you’re dating your comatose fake fiance’s sister?” Eve asked. “Wow, you’re screwed.”

“I’m well aware of that, thanks,” Jacob told her with a glare. “What do I do?”

“Why are you asking me?” Eve said with a shake of her head. “I’ve never been in this situation before.”

“No one has!” He yelled with a roll of his eyes. “Only me!”

“Alright, calm down,” Baird said as she sat him down in the chair across from her desk. “If that’s the case, if you really are in love with her then…well do you think she’s in love with you too?”

“Hard to say, really, I don’t know,” Jacob said with a furrowed brow.

“Well, figure that out first before you risk everything, okay?” Baird told him. “Let her actions be your guide. Got it?”

“Got it,” he said with a nod. “Makes sense. I can do that.”

“Good,” She said with a supportive smile. “Now, let’s get to work, hm?”

“Right! On it,” Jacob said as he left her office and relieved the guard that was stationed at the front desk before him.

Just as he sat down at the desk, he looked up to see Cassandra walking through the door. He tried not to panic. What was she doing here? Did she somehow know he’d been talking about her?

“Jacob!” she said brightly. “How are you?”

“Um, good,” he told her with a grin. He was positive it was a bit of a goofy grin. “Really good. Not much has changed since last night.”

She chuckled and nodded. “Right.” She cleared her throat nervously and bit her bottom lip before she continued. “Well, I was on my way to work when mom asked me to come down here and tell you that we’re all going to go to the hospital and give blood later. It’s customary for families to do so in this situation we’ve been told. We thought you might want to join us.”

“Right, yes, of course,” he said with a sad smile. There was the reminder he needed about Mabel. Mabel was in a coma. Mabel needed her family. Cassandra was Mabel’s sister. She would never betray her sister like that. “What time?”

“About five o’clock, when we all get off work. Is that okay?”

“Perfect, I’ll see you the—“

“Well, if it isn’t the happy couple!” a voice exclaimed as it approached them. Jacob’s eyes widened and he turned to face Flynn with a confused expression.

“What?” Cassandra asked. “Who are you exactly?”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Flynn said as he reached out and shook Cassandra’s hand. “I’m Flynn Carsen, Jacob’s building manager. I was on my way to the Library when I saw you two in here and I thought I’d come and offer my congratulations. Ezekiel told me he finally got to meet Jacob’s fiancé last night and it’s only fair that I get my chance too.”

Jacob winced and groaned while Cassandra froze in panic.

“What?” She asked in a high pitched voice he’d never heard her use before. “Me? _Me_? No, um I’m sorry, I’m not—he’s not—we’re not—“ she stopped her stuttering and took a deep breath before speaking again. “It’s not me. I’m not the fiancé,” she said finally. “He’s my sister’s—oh god not that I think she owns him or—shit. Let me try this again. Jacob is engaged to my sister. Not me. It’s her that he’s engaged to. Mabel. He’s engaged to Mabel. He picked her.”

“Oh! My fault! We just saw you come to the building last night and we assumed—I’m sorry. You know, I should really know better than to listen to Ezekiel anyway,” Flynn said awkwardly with a pleasant smile.

“Oh no,” she said with a strange hollow sounding chuckle. “It’s not me. I’m going to be the sister-in-law not the bride.”

An awkward silence stretched out between the three of them before Jacob finally remembered to actually introduce her.

“Oh! Flynn, sorry, this is Cassandra,” he said as he motioned between them.

“Great to meet you,” Cassandra said with a nod before she began backing away from the security desk. “Well, I—I should go. Don’t wanna be late for work. Um, bye!”

Before he could reply she’d practically sprinted out the door. It was obvious she was completely startled by Flynn, but she seemed more than startled. She seemed upset. 

Jacob sighed and then turned a flat look on Flynn. “Really, man?”

“I should have checked with you first. I see that now,” Flynn said with an appropriately embarrassed face.

“You think?” Jacob asked him with a shake of his head.

“You think she’s going to be okay?” Flynn asked in concern. “She seemed very out of sorts.”

Flynn was right. She did seem out of sorts. _Too_ out of sorts. He shook the thoughts away and rolled his eyes at himself. No, it didn’t mean anything. He was reading too much into it. “Probably just surprised is all. She’ll be fine.”

After work he headed to the hospital to give blood and found himself and Cassandra in the room at the same time. Afterward they laid on their separate beds, waiting for the nurses to tell them it was safe to get up, and Jacob felt the need to say something.

“Cassandra, about what happened at the museum—“

“It’s fine, really.”

“No, I—I have really nosey neighbors and Flynn didn’t mean to make you feel awkward or embarrassed. He felt really bad about it after you left.”

“He couldn’t have asked you about it first?” She asked him suddenly with a shake of her head. As if the words had been bottled up in her head all day long. “And why exactly haven’t your friends met Mabel? I mean I know this happened fast but it couldn’t have happened _that_ fast, right? Surely your building manager should have met her before?”

“Uh, well, we spent most of our time at Mabel’s place,” he said quickly. “Her place is bigger, so—“ he was guessing. He didn’t really know. “More comfortable for us.”

“I guess,” she told him with a furrowed brow.

“And yes, he should have asked me before and he realized that after you left. I’m sorry.”

“There’s nothing for you to apologize for,” She told him with a shrug. “You didn’t do anything.’

“I know,” He said with a shrug. “But I still feel like it was somehow my fault. I mean, Flynn is _my_ friend.”

She chuckled and smirked at him. “I suppose that _is_ true. Okay, you’ve convinced me. I’m officially mad at you.”

“What?” he asked in surprise.

“Oh yes, you made your point very well and I am quite furious,” she said with a teasing wink.

He shook his head and rolled his eyes at her with a light laugh. “Gee, thanks.”

“How are you _ever_ going to make this up to me?” She asked him with a pointed glance.

“I could buy you lunch tomorrow,” he offered with a small smile.

“Oh,” she said with a nervous gulp. Her teasing tone from earlier seemed to completely vanish. “Yes, um, I’d like that.”

“Me too,” he said with grin as he met her eyes. She blushed and glanced away from him and that seemed to break whatever spell kept them staring at each other. “You know, you can fill me on the specifics for Judson’s party.”

“Yes, right,” she said with a nod. “That’s perfectly logical that we would have lunch to talk about his party. Since it is tomorrow night, and all.”

Jacob nodded. “Yes, exactly.”

“Exactly,” she repeated. Though her tone sounded doubtful.

From there he followed the family to their house for dinner. Both he and Cassandra were rather quiet at dinner and he wondered if she was thinking about the same things he was. He wondered she was as conflicted as him? The conversation flowed well without them so no one seemed to notice they were distracted. After dinner, Judson went up to his room to watch his shows and go to bed and that was the moment Charlene gathered the rest of them in the kitchen to strategize.

“Cassandra,” Charlene said as she finally got around to assignments. “I want you and Jacob in charge of decorations. You’ll need to be there early in the afternoon to get it done. Can you do that?”

Cassandra nodded. “I can get the afternoon off. That’s not a problem.”

“Early shift tomorrow. I’ll be done by noon.” Jacob offered.

“But that would mean your shift starts at 4,” Cassandra said as she did the math in her head and gave him a concerned glance. “You should already be in bed!”

He chuckled at her and smiled at her in thanks. “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me, Cassie.”

“No, she’s right, Jacob,” Charlene said with a shake of her head. “And we’re not going to have you waste any time by driving back into the city. No, you’re going to stay in our guest room. Go on. Go.”

“What?” He asked in surprise. “Go?”

“It’s late. Go to bed, young man,” She commanded in her most parental voice.

He blinked at her in shock. “Wait, are you really sending me to bed?”

Cassandra giggled and nodded. “Yes, she is.”

“That’s her serious mom voice,” Amy told him with a grin. “You ignore that voice at your own peril.”

“Up to bed, go,” Charlene repeated.

“But, um, I don’t have a toothbrush or—“

“There are extras in the drawer to the left of the sink,” Charlene told him as she crossed her arms over her chest impatiently.

“Oh. Okay, then I guess I’ll just…” He pointed up the stairs and then gave Charlene another surprised look. “Go to bed?”

“Yes, yes you will. You should have told us you had an early shift. We would have sent you to bed ages ago,” Charlene said with a shake of her head. “You’re a part of this family now, Jacob. We will not have you neglecting yourself.”

“Goodnight,” Cassandra called to him teasingly with a wave of her fingers.

“What just happened?” Jacob asked himself outloud as he trudged up the stairs.

“You were mom’d,” Amy told him in amusement as she followed him up the stairs. “I’ll show you where the guest bedroom is. It used to be Cassandra’s room so it might look a little girly but I can guarantee you that the bed is super comfortable.”

“Great, thanks,” Jacob said as he dutifully followed Amy down the hall.


	11. Confessions

 

A little girly? Jacob thought as he stepped into the room. The walls were a soft yellow, with pastel pink paisley curtains over the large window. The sheets on the bed at least were simple white linen. The bed was a white wood canopy bed with a pink frilly canopy drapped across it. The only thing that contrasted the bright girly feel were the shelves filled with things like rock polishers and vacant ant farms. The tallest shelves were adorned with trophies. Everywhere. So many trophies. How many awards could Cassandra have won?

He spotted a memory board on the closet door that was full of momentos and photos. He noticed a few notes in feminine handwriting pinned to it as well. And then over the desk were two Van Gogh prints. But not your typical Starry Night or Café Terrace. No, she had Sunflowers and Restaurant de la Sirene. Both considerably brighter than a sparking night sky. It seemed very… _Cassandra_.

“Might look a little girly?” Jacob asked Amy pointedly. 

She smirked at him and shrugged. “You don’t seem to mind so far if the way you’re studying every little detail is any indication.”

“I’m not—That ain’t what I was—“ He sighed and conceded her point. “Okay, so I’m curious. Your whole family is so impressive. Can you blame me for wanting to know more about how Cassandra became… _Cassandra_?”

“Well if you’re that curious about Cassandra then I guess you would love to see Mabel’s old room.”

“Mabel, right, yeah, of course I would,” he answered hurriedly. He’d almost forgotten, again. 

“Okay, then I’ll show you next time you come over,” Amy said with a knowing smile. “Mabel won’t mind.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Jacob said with an awkward nod. 

“Bathroom is across the hall,” Amy told him. “Good night.”

“Good night,” he replied as the door closed.

Once it closed, he hit himself lightly over the head. “Idiot, they think you’re engaged to Mabel. _Mabel_. You _cannot_ be interested in Cassandra. You know, even if she’s absolutely gorgeous and impossibly brilliant and funny. God, so funny.” He huffed and sat down on the bed. “Well, shit. I’m screwed.”

* * *

 

The next morning he was up at 3 and thought he was getting out before anyone had gotten up, but he was surprised by Cassandra sitting on the front stoop. She was ready for the day and slowly sipping on a travel cup of coffee as she sat on the bottom step of the stoop. 

“You’re up early,” Jacob said as he stopped on the step above her.

She stood and nodded. “I’m a morning person.”

He chuckled. “That doesn’t surprise me, but this is barely morning. Trust me, I know.”

“I stayed up all night talking with mom so technically I’m up _late_ ,” Cassandra told him with a shrug. “I’m just headed back to my apartment for some much needed sleep.”

Right on cue, Jacob’s cab pulled up outside. “Split a cab?” He asked.

He knew he should stay away, but he just couldn’t seem to stop himself.

“That would be wonderful,” she said with a bright smile.

She had a great smile, he thought as he held open the car door for her. This was exactly what he shouldn’t be doing. This was torture.

“So,” she asked as he got in and shut the door behind him. “Are we still on for lunch?”

“Yeah, absolutely,” he told her. “My treat. I’ll even pick you up,” he said with a wink.

She laughed and nodded. “Perfect,” she said as she pulled out a card and handed it to him. “The address on the back is my office building. I’ll meet you at the security desk. We’ll have lunch and then strategize decorating.”

“Decorating requires strategy?” Jacob asked with a furrowed brow.

She smirked at him. “It does when I do it.”

“I’m in over my head, aren’t I?” He asked.

“Let’s just say this isn’t my first Rodeo,” she told him with a wink. 

He gave her a bored glance and a lopsided smile. “You only used the Rodeo metaphor because of my accent, right?”

She shrugged and grinned. “It was the hand I was dealt. My ex had to put up with a lot of geology puns so, you know, you’re not alone.” She paused awkwardly as she thought about what she said and then frantically continued. “Not that this is in anyway the same sort of situation—I mean, we’re not dating or anything.”

He smirked at her and nodded. “I got it.”

“Which, honestly, is probably a good thing. Estrella always hated my cheesy puns,” Cassandra said with a sigh and a roll of her eyes.

“I don’t mind puns,” Jacob told her. “I think they’re pun-ny.”

She turned an amused glance on him and he winked at her just as she had winked at him earlier.

“If you don’t mind me asking what happened with Estrella?” Jacob asked her.

She shook her head. “Nothing dramatic. Not really. I was studying abroad and we both had family obligations. I couldn’t stay there and she couldn’t come here. Long distance put a strain on it and that was it. The tired and typically young love story.”

“My experience is that it doesn’t feel tired or typical when it happens to you,” he told her with an understanding nod.

“No, it doesn’t.”

“Had a similar experience myself, except I got left behind, as with most things in my life,” Jacob admitted.

“Doesn’t seem like you’re getting left behind any more,” Cassandra told him with a soft smile.

“No, I guess not,” He said as he met Cassandra’s eyes.

The cab stopped and they realized they’d reached Cassandra’s building. Her building was much nicer than his. It had a doorman and, judging by the glance he took through the glass double doors, an elevator.

“This is me,” Cassandra said. She felt the need to fill the silence by stating the obvious.

Jacob wasted no time getting out of the car and rushing around to open the door for her. Cassandra seemed very surprised but stepped out with a quiet, “Thank you.”

He nodded and waved and watched her walk inside without another word. Once the door closed behind her he got back into the cab and gave the driver the address for his building. He needed to change before going in for his shift. He was also going to try and get his shit together. He was going to be spending more time with Cassandra today. Avoiding her was going to be impossible so he’d better start adjusting. He couldn’t keep looking at her the way he had been or flirting with her. It was inappropriate. He knew it. So, it was time to stop.

* * *

 

Cassandra walked through her apartment door, closed it, and then leaned back against it. What the hell was she doing? She was pouring out her heart and making too much eye contact and flirting— _flirting!_ He was engaged to her sister.

On the other hand, he was flirting back. And it takes two to make too much eye contact. He wasn’t even Mabel’s type! Mabel liked brutally honest, shrewd, ambitious types. Lamia never pulled punches, figuratively and literally. But Jacob wasn’t like that. He wasn’t brutal about anything or at least he didn’t want to be. Jacob was ambitious, yes, but not at all like Mabel’s other partners. He wouldn’t sacrifice someone else’s dream for his own.

Okay, maybe she was painting Mabel’s lovers in a bad light. Lamia wasn’t so bad really. At least not around Mabel. Cassandra had gone to dinner with them once and it was very unsettling how surprisingly thoughtful Lamia was toward Mabel. But even so, Lamia was no Jacob. Jacob was too sweet and too attentive for Mabel. She’d find him smothering. Mabel liked her freedom. She liked to pick up and leave whenever she wanted and she needed someone who could do the same. Cassandra sensed that Jacob wanted something very different.

He wanted a family and responsibility, but _he_ wanted to choose the responsibility. She couldn’t blame him for that. But that meant Mabel and Jacob were very different.

Mabel was a leaf on the wind and Jacob was the steady tree the leaf left behind. Hadn’t he told her he’d gotten left behind a lot? She couldn’t let that happen to him again. She didn’t want to see him hurt. Amy was right. Jacob and Mabel weren’t right for each other and someone was going to get hurt. 

Or she’d been up far too long and she was delusional.

She had time to catch about 4 hours of sleep before work. That’s what she needed to snap her out of…whatever the hell this was.

* * *

 

His shift was over and before he knew it he found himself approaching Cassandra’s office building. Baird had given him concerned looks all morning. He’d been in too good of a mood. He knew why and Baird had her suspicions. It was Cassandra. He’d seen her before his shift and he’d be seeing her after work as well. He could get used to that.

Though he shouldn’t. Mabel would wake up and when she did they’d all know he’d been lying.

He gave his name at the front desk and they advised him to wait in the lobby. Cassandra was on her way down to meet him. He could hear the two women at the desk whispering about him and Cassandra. They were whispering something about how well he suited Cassandra. There was more but he couldn’t make it out. If it weren’t for this situation he’d let himself run into, he’d agree with them. But he’d been so blinded by the idea of Mabel that he’d gotten himself stuck between a rock and a hard place. 

He’d debated just telling Cassandra the truth, but then…he truly enjoyed spending time with her and her family. They were addicting. They loved each other and the idea of learning. They valued education in a way no one his family ever would. They had faith in each other and now they had faith in him too. He was one of them.

He couldn’t bring himself to shatter that faith. Not when he’d just discovered what having someone believe in him felt like.

Someone tapped him on the shoulder and he nearly jumped out of his skin.

Cassandra giggled at him. “Sorry about that. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking,” Jacob said with a light laugh. “You startled me.”

“Serious thoughts, I assume,” Cassandra said as they started to walk toward the door.

“A bit, yes,” He agreed. “Mostly about how different our families are and how it feels to be a part of yours.”

“I can’t imagine feeling like I had to hide my curiosity from my family,” Cassandra told him. “That must have been so difficult, especially as a child.”

“As difficult as it was, I have to admit that I appreciate being here now a lot more as a result of it,” Jacob told her with a warm smile. “Without my family, I wouldn’t know just how exceptional yours is.”

And he wouldn’t be risking nearly everything to be a part of it, he thought.

“Sometimes,” Cassandra said nervously. She started and then stopped. “Nevermind, it’ll sound horrible.”

“What?” Jacob asked as he hailed a cab for them.

“You’ll think I’m the worst sister—“

“I won’t,” Jacob assured her. “Honest.”

“Well, I just…sometimes I think that you love our family more than Mabel does,” Cassandra confessed with a sad smile. “Mabel has always been the type to float from place to place. She doesn’t put down roots. She’s like our dad in that way and it’s caused a lot of tension between her and mom. I think it also keeps her away. Before the accident we hadn’t seen her in nearly six months.”

His brow furrowed. “Really? But she lived so close and the two of you worked in the same city. “ That definitely didn’t fit with the vision of Mabel he had in his head.

“To be fair,” Cassandra said as she bit her bottom lip. “And to prove I’m not a terrible person, she’d been through a lot and mom’s reaction to it all wasn’t helping.”

“You’re not a terrible person,” Jacob assured her. “You’re honest. I can appreciate that. Besides, I’m not judging. I’ve said worse things about my family.”

“I just worry about you, I guess,” Cassandra admitted. “Sometimes you and Mabel seem so different. Too different.” She paused as if she’d said something wrong and looked away from him. “Please don’t take offense.”

“No, I get it. My highest level of education is high school and I don’t make much money or own any property or—“

Cassandra shook her head and grabbed his hand. “You’re not understanding me, Jacob. I mean to say that I think you’re…compassionate and patient and brilliant, but you’re grounded. Mabel isn’t. I’m just afraid she’ll take that for granted. I mean I love Mabel, I do, but she doesn’t stay in one place with one person for very long.”

He opened the cab door for her and motioned for her to step in first. Once he sat down beside of her he gave her a half hearted smile. “You don’t think people who love each other can change?” He asked.

“I _hope_ they can,” Cassandra told him. “But I don’t think you can depend on that. I think you should really love the person they already are.”

“And you don’t think I do? Love Mabel for the way she is?” He asked her with a quirked brow.

“What? No. I’m—I’m sure you do,” she answered hesitantly. He could tell she didn’t mean it. “Just forget I said anything, really. It’s none of my business.”

“You’re her sister,” he told her with a small smile. “Of course it’s your business.”

Cassandra couldn’t tell if she’d offended him or not. She should have kept her mouth shut. Awkward silence filled the cab until they reached the restaurant. For Jacob, he wasn’t sure what to do with the information Cassandra had given him. It told him a lot about Mabel that shattered whatever idea of her he had in his head, but she’d also told him a lot about herself. It indicated what she felt about him. He thought he was reading her correctly. He knew he had feelings for her and now he was almost convinced she had feelings for him too. Not that he could do anything about it. She thought he was in love with her sister.

The cab stopped and Jacob got out first and held the door for Cassandra. He closed the door and let her lead the way. She stopped at the door and turned to him.

“I’m sorry,” she said with a sigh. “I was out of line earlier.”

“No, no need to apologize,” he assured her. “I needed to hear it.”

It wasn’t a lie. He did need to hear it, to hear her imply how she felt even if she didn’t realize it.


End file.
